While winning a business award will not suddenly mean that your business becomes far superior, it does provide various benefits for an organisation.
For employees and prospective employees, a business award can act as an external validation of your business excellence and credibility. It is also recognition of the work they do and that their company is outperforming industry peers.
Other stakeholders, such as your suppliers, customers and other professional partners, will also see it a a mark of business excellence. Some of the sheen of your business award can rub off on them.
In turn, these could translate into more tangible benefits, bringing in more contracts, attracting and retaining quality talent, and boosting company morale.
If you are a business owner, here are 4 established business awards that you can consider applying for.
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#1 Emerging Enterprise Award
Organisers: The Business Times, OCBC Bank
Since 2008, the Emerging Enterprise Award has been honouring the bold ambition of Singapore’s startups. It recognises the “business innovation, resilience and excellence” in Singapore SMEs.
There are two main categories of awards for SMEs handed out: the Emerging Enterprise Award and the Emerging Enterprise Sustainability Award. Up to three award winners will be announced for each category, and a further Most Promising Startup Award and a Most Promising Sustainability Startup Award will be announced under each category as well.
2024 winners for the main Emerging Enterprise Award include Kskin Management (Korean skincare technology and proprietary solutions provider), Pancare Medical (Private GP and medical services), and Hong Kong-based Fano Labs (AI-driven language solutions).
Winners for the Emerging Enterprise Sustainability Award include Pyxis Maritime (maritime electrification for electric vessels), RushOwl Singapore (demand-responsive and self-optimising bus pooling services for corporations and schools) and Indonesia-based PT. Peduli Alam Nusantara (converting plastic and husk waste into a sustainable material called PlanaWood).
Past winners of the Emerging Enterprise award include FOMO Pay, a one-stop mobile payments aggregator, Sunseap, a clean energy solutions provider in Singapore, Secretlab, which creates ergonomic gaming and office chairs, ShopBack, a cashback e-commerce platform, Benjamin Barker, a local menswear label, and many more household names.
Apart from the pride of claiming the Emerging Enterprise Award and the Emerging Enterprise Sustainability Awards, the three winners will also receive prizes:
- OCBC – 2-year interest-free Term Loan worth $200,000 each
- RSM – Consulting Package for Growing Businesses, worth S$15,000
- SPH – Media publicity in print, digital, social media, radio, podcasts for Singapore and the region
The application period is usually from mid-May – end-June, so interested applicants should look out for when it opens. There is no application fee. Interested business owners simply need to fill up the application form, and shortlisted applicants will be informed by email and phone by early September each year.
#2 Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA)
Organisers: Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) and Lianhe Zaobao
The Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA) started in 2002. Today, it recognises Singapore brands that have been developed and managed effectively through various branding initiatives.
This award is also “a yardstick for SMEs to benchmark their brand equity against their competitors”. Winners from 2020/2021 include Singhaiyi, Union Energy, Econ Healthcare, and more. In 2023, winners include Coliwoo, Work+Store, Four Star Mattress, and 2024 winners include Kskin, Chilli Manis, Dian Xiao Er, Epitex and more.
Past winners also include Kingsford Group, a regional property developer, RHT, which provides professional services for capital markets, White Restaurant, an F&B chain, and FotoHub, an imaging solutions company, as well as YEO’s, breadtalk, LHN, Eu Yan Sang and other homegrown names.
There are 5 main award categories: SPBA – Promising Brands, SPBA – Established Brands, SPBA – Heritage Brands, SPBA – Regional Brands and SPBA – Special Merit.
With the exception of SPBA – Special Merit:
- An overall winner is chosen for each category.
- An SPBA – Most Popular Brand Winner will also be selected by the public in each category.
Nominations for each year close around the end of May to the first week of July. You can submit a nomination for the award here.
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#3 Entrepreneur of the Year Award (EYA)
Organisers: Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) and Rotary Club of Singapore
The Entrepreneur of the Year Award (EYA) is into its 35th year, making it one of the oldest awards in Singapore that recognises local entrepreneurs. They could be owners of emerging or established enterprises. The Award “prides itself for the high qualifying criteria, rigorous rounds of site visits, and stringent judging process”.
The submission deadline is on 30 April 2025. There are two categories for winners: Established Entrepreneur and New Entrepreneur. They also have sub-categories for Corporate Social Responsibility Award, Business Resilience, Business Strategy, and Business Innovation and Technology.
Winners of the Established Entrepreneur category include Mr Thong Yong Hin, Managing Director of Inter Island Manpower, in 2023/24 and Mr. Kim Wah Boon, Founder and Group CEO of Dickson Group Pte Ltd in 2022.
Past winners include entrepreneurs from Marunda Utama Engineering Pte Ltd., Decision Science Agency Pte. Ltd., Eatz Group, Old Street Bak Kut Teh, Ademco Security, Dian Xiao Er and more.
Like the other awards mentioned here, there is no registration fee to take part in the award. However, if an entrepreneur is selected as a winner, they “will be required to take up an Award Package upon notification of their win”.
#4 Enterprise 50 Award (E50 Awards)
Organisers: The Business Times and KPMG
The E50 Awards was started in 1995. It recognises the “50 most enterprising local, privately-held companies who have contributed to the economic development of Singapore, both locally and abroad”.
For the past 30 years, the awards “have honoured more than 600 companies, from which more than 100 have gone on to be listed on both local and overseas stock markets”. Many local enterprises see the awards as “a stepping stone towards a public listing”.
Nominations for the Enterprise 50 Awards typically close in September, so keep a lookout for the 2025 opening.
Winners in 2024 include Prism tech, Kinderworld International, Brewekz Group, include BR Metals, Minmed Group, OrangeTee & Tie, PS Energy Group, and others.
Past winners include: Hegen, MLion, Minmed Group, Soilbuild Group Holdings Ltd, Huttons Asia Pte Ltd, Ya Kun (S) Pte Ltd and Ademco (Far East) Pte Ltd, OrangeTee & Tie, RE & S Enterprises, Huationg, OKH Holdings, 800 Super, Union Energy, Koufu, iFast and many more. Many of these companies were conferred the award over a decade ago, when they were much smaller compared to their size today.
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Tips When Submitting For A Business Award
If you have decided to take part in one of these awards (or in others that are not listed here), here are some tips on how you can make your entry stand out.
- Go for awards that meet your business objectives. Put in a more familiar way, go for quality awards instead of quantity.
- Keep an eye out for the credibility of the award organisers.
- Read the award criteria and submit entries that are customised to the award, instead of a generic entry.
- Because some awards have qualitative criteria to them – apart from a quantitative one – keep your written entries concise and proofread them before submitting.
- Tell stories. Stories are compelling tools that can leave an impression on the award judges. Stories like overcoming the odds and adversity tend to be crowd-pleasers and may make your submission stand out more.
This list of tips is not exhaustive. When in doubt, let good sense prevail. All the best in the contests and may the best companies win.
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