EIGHT budding companies from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong clinched top accolades at the 2023 Emerging Enterprise Awards on Thursday (Nov 23).
This marked the first year that applications for the annual awards – now in its 16th year – were open to young businesses in the region beyond Singapore.
Singapore-based Conex Healthcare and Profileprint, as well as Malaysia-based Troopers Innovation, snagged the Emerging Enterprise Award for their enterprising mindset. They were lauded for their consistent, significant and sustainable growth as well as strong business performance, on top of displaying the ability to scale and expand overseas.
Conex Healthcare has developed Presage, a patient-monitoring solution that helps prevent falls in hospitals and nursing homes. Profileprint uses artificial intelligence-driven analysis to assess the quality of food ingredients, while Troopers Innovation is a digital human-resources tech platform for flexible work.
Jointly organised by The Business Times (BT) and OCBC Bank, the Emerging Enterprise Awards aim to recognise business innovation, resilience and excellence in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under 10 years old.
The Emerging Enterprise Sustainability Award – under a newly introduced sustainability category this year – went to Singapore-based Redex Group and N&E Innovations, as well as Hong Kong-based Flex Fuel Hydrogen Development.
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The award recognises enterprises capitalising on growth opportunities in the green economy, such as embedding sustainability in their operations, as well as leveraging technology and innovative solutions to drive the transition towards low-carbon economies.
Redex Group operates a trading platform for renewable energy certificates in Asia; N&E Innovations uses technology to transform food waste into valuable products. Flex Fuel Hydrogen Development specialises in hydrogen research and development as well as equipment manufacturing to produce tailored green-energy solutions.
Meanwhile, Aprisium and NEU Battery Materials – both based in Singapore – snagged the Most Promising Sustainability Startup Award. The award recognises startups that have developed unique and commercially viable ideas with long-term potential.
Aprisium provides live, on-site continuous contamination detection and monitoring solutions, while NEU Battery Materials recycles lithium batteries using a patented clean recycling method.
Speaking at the awards ceremony held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore on Thursday night, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How, who was the guest of honour, said the achievements of all companies were “noteworthy, especially against the backdrop of a rapidly and profoundly changing world”.
Businesses have had to deal with significant challenges in recent years, he noted, citing the Covid-19 pandemic, macroeconomic uncertainty, supply-chain realignments and technological changes as some examples.
To help businesses chart their way forward, Tan urged employers to support workers in skills upgrading to adapt to changing needs, as well as to embrace technology as a “strategic enabler” to sharpen their competitiveness.
Each winner of the Emerging Enterprise Awards will receive a two-year interest-free term loan of up to S$200,000 – or the local currency equivalent – from OCBC. The two sustainability startup winners, will each receive a two-year interest-free term loan of up to S$100,000.
All will receive media publicity across BT’s print, digital, social media, radio and podcast channels for Singapore and the region. Conex Healthcare, Profileprint and Troopers Innovation also bagged a business consulting package from professional services firm RSM worth S$30,000.
A record 600 applications – the highest number of entries since the awards’ launch in 2008 – were received this year, from diverse industries such as biotech, urban solutions, medtech and food and beverage. This included more than 200 applications from companies based in regional markets, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
In total, 30 companies were selected as finalists for both the Emerging Enterprise and sustainability award categories.
BT editor Chen Huifen said the team was encouraged by this year’s crop of finalists, with many of them showcasing “clear vision and growth pathways, and the courage to challenge conventional processes and thinking to create niches for themselves”.
“Some even set out to be regional or even global players right from the start,” she said.
Christie Chu, head of emerging business and commercial banking cash at OCBC Global Commercial Banking, likewise noted the bumper crop of submissions from the region, adding: “This signals that establishing the new Emerging Enterprise Sustainability Award and opening up submissions to the region were the right moves to meet growing demand from SMEs for a platform to have their achievements recognised.
“We applaud this year’s winners for their success and are confident they will continue to thrive, despite ongoing challenges in the business environment.”
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