Bangkok Now (BNOW), Bangkok’s Networking Community, announces with its partners, the launch of Thailand’s very first Entrepreneur Now Awards (ENA). In follow-up to the awards program BNOW supported in 2014, BNOW is expanding upon last year’s foundation and welcoming Thai and non-Thai applicants and nominees as Thailand opens its doors to ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). This award widens the reach to recognize entrepreneurs from more countries and industries operating in the Kingdom of Thailand.
To create great exposure for the Award, the partnership has been broaden to include several foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand and other players who support entrepreneurs in the market. Members of the working committee include the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM), the Irish Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok University, Bangkok Entrepreneurs, UNESCO, and the international internet-based market research firm, Yougov.
The award’s objective is to promote entrepreneurism, attract investors to Thailand and the ASEAN region, and revitalize the Thai economy and the SME sector. Additionally, we aim to champion the entrepreneurial spirit, cultivate the entrepreneur culture and support an eco-system to sustain it. Below are categories and criteria for the judges.
Categories
1. Most Outstanding Male / Female Entrepreneur
2. Eco Entrepreneur
3. Creative Entrepreneur
4. Social Enterprise Entrepreneur
5. Student Plan
6. Exceptional ASEAN/Foreign Owned
7. Exceptional Thai Owned
8. Most Entrepreneurial Team
9. SME (30 to 100 employees)
10. Micro Enterprise (less than 30)
Criteria
1. Uniqueness – How unique is the entrepreneur in what they are doing and how do they show that they have their own style?
2. Vision and Potential Growth – How does the entrepreneur’s company maintain vision and growth? Does the entrepreneur have a sustainable business model? What can the entrepreneur do in order to grow or expand?
3. Value in Thailand & ASEAN – How does the entrepreneur contribute to the country’s economy in
terms of number of jobs, involvement in CSR activities, social benefit (outreach and impact in local community and educational opportunity)
4. Eco-sustainability – Does the entrepreneur show initiative regarding sustainability strategies that encompass every business operation? What is the impact on the environment?
5. Striking achievements – What has the entrepreneur or co-founders achieved that he/she is proud of personally?
6. Overcoming challenges – What are some of the challenges faced by the entrepreneur and how was it dealt with professionally?
7. Recognition and Traction – A role model in the industry, recognized by peers and general public. What have they generally achieved? Social media followers/engagement, sales, email subscribers, revenue, backing of investors, media coverage.
Nomination and Application Process
1. Public announcement of award categories and criteria (media event, release and on social media) on July 3rd 2015.
2. Nominee and applicant are to submit a 3 minute video and send the link to [email protected]. Alternatively, you can come and make the video with us, please contact us to make an appointment. For those creating their own submission, the video should contain in writing the name of the company and the contact information in the introduction. The content should showcase their uniqueness, vision, potential growth, value they are creating in TH and ASEAN, eco-sustainability, striking achievement, perseverance, plus recognition and traction. Nominees are asked to provide proof for each of the points made in the video if possible, i.e. jobs created, report on the company’s carbon foot print, news clipping about the company in the media. Public listed companies are ineligible. Applications are taken from 10/Jul/15 and closed on 30/Sept/15. Should nominees or applicant have questions, they can email [email protected].
3. Judges (in the process of recruiting) will score each video in the 7 criteria. The scoring will be from 10 to 1, with 10 being the highest score possible for the criteria.
4. YouGov will tabulate the judges’ score and on 1/Oct/15 top 50 are announced. These companies will be invited to the live pitching which will be hosted at Bangkok University. The judges and nominees will have a chance to meet for 6 minutes. General public, sponsors, media and students are invited to attend the event on Oct 20, 2015 at Kluay Nam Thai BU campus.
5. The judges will score the 50 using YouGov platform. There will be winners per category, as listed below. Audience is also invited to participate and the weighting is 70% for judges and 30% for audience. Brand Now will send out a post release of the event. All 50 are invited to award night on 17/Nov/15 (prizes TBC, require support from sponsors).
6. The Awards night will gather the 50 finalist and other guests included are partners, sponsors, media, friends and other supporters of the projects. Family, friends and other guests are welcome. Tickets will be sold for the latter group. Brand Now will send post event release to partners and media for coverage.
7. The winners and judges are then invited to speak at Entrepreneur Summit at Bangkok University. General public, sponsors, media and students are invited to attend the event, 27/Jan/16. Brand Now will send post event release to partners and media for coverage.
YouGov will manage the entire voting process of the awards program utilizing their proprietary mobile technology platforms to ensure ease of voting and accurate, timely results.
This is what our partners are saying about their participation in ENA:
Michele Tomea, the Secretary General of Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce said, “Entrepreneur Now is able to help business community in Thailand. It can bring new ideas, bigger networking for Chambers of Commerce and support in globalizing businesses.”
Paul Scales, the President of Irish Thai Chamber of Commerce and Director Thai Board of Trade said, “The Irish-Thai Chamber of Commerce wants to support this healthy and vibrant competition.”
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, the Managing Director and Founder of Thailand’s leading e-commerce website Tarad.com and honorary advisor to ENA said, “This project will help push entrepreneurs to grow even faster and will support the economy, society and much much more.”
Paul Robere, Co-Coordinator of the AMCHAM SME Committee said, “I love the idea that the business environment in Thailand is stronger than it has ever been. We feel that SMEs will be very strong in the future development of Thailand. The American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand wants to do everything possible to help make that happen. ”
Bart Medici, Founder of Bangkok Entrepreneurs, said “Bangkok Entrepreneurs is thrilled to participate in this project that will promote Entrepreneurship in Thailand and help Entrepreneurs to connect, exchange experience, and grow their businesses.”
Lay Cheng Tan, Programme Officer in UNESCO, said “ENA highlights the importance of recognizing and rewarding success. Entrepreneur Now plays a key role in encouraging those already successful to lead by example and perhaps be willing to mentor and inspire fledging and young entrepreneurs.”
Gerald Ang, Director of YouGov Asia Pacific, said “We are thrilled to be part of this exciting initiative to breed the next generation of business leaders in Thailand. Active entrepreneurship is a crucial element of a striving society. We hope that by tapping on our online/mobile panel of more than 25,000 consumers whom we interact with on daily basis, we can provide valuable insights on the entrepreneurship scene in Thailand.”
Sponsors for ENA include Thai Air Asia X, Acer, YouGov, Avon and Brand Now.
Media partners include The Asian Entrepreneur and The Phuket News.
Partners include AMCHAM, Bangkok Entrepreneurs, Bangkok University, Irish Thai Chamber of Commerce, Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce, UNESCO, and Brand Now.
Friends include Busy Bees @115, Kliquedesk, ONEDAY and the Hive Bangkok.
Thank you to our catering sponsor Coffee World.
BNOW is inviting you, your company, other Chambers of Commerce and business groups to be part of this movement where we create a forward momentum for the entrepreneurs and SMEs which makes up 70 to 75% of the Thai economy. This plan requires all kinds, not just entrepreneurs. We require cheers leaders, mentors, sponsors, advisors, supporters, and anyone interested to contribute and be part of a vibrant group. We’re calling on the leaders, geniuses, mavericks, thinkers, game changers, creative and awesome people to join us. Drop us an email: [email protected].
