PETALING JAYA: The first round of judging opens for The Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2022 on Dec 8, with all the 24 judges converging in a briefing session.
Auditor BDO advisory director Lim Sin Han took the lead in informing the judges of the process while the SOBA committee briefed them on the new judging platform that was meant to facilitate the judging process and to ensure they have a better experience.
Star Media Group (SMG) chief business officer Lydia Wang said: “This is (SOBA’s) 13th year and last year was the first time we decided to change the format of judging. We took the feedback from business entrepreneurs to be more inclusive.”
Wang said that the comments from the judges were incorporated into improvements in this year’s judging.
“As a result, we have invested in a digital submission and judging platform that is less painful for all,” she shared.
This year also saw the introduction of several new SOBA categories, one of which is the Best in e-retail, to pay tribute to small and medium enterprises that have successfully embraced digitalisation.
Also new are the Best Halal Product or Service category and the Elite Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The 24 judges are carefully selected among SOBA’s strategic partners and represent their associations at the top tier, are credible business leaders and captains of industries in their fields of expertise.
The strategic partners consist of the 4As Malaysia, Branding Association of Malaysia, the Asean Retail-Chains and Franchise Federation, Malaysian Digital Association, Malaysia Retail Chain Association, Malaysian Advertisers Association, Kuala Lumpur Malay Chamber of Commerce, Malaysian Advertisers Association, The Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia, The Malaysian Chinese Commerce Association, Persatuan Usahawan Maju Malaysia, Media Specialists Association, the National Tech Association of Malaysia, Malaysian Association Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia, JCI Malaysia, Malaysian Employers Federation and SME Association of Malaysia.
The judges are streamlined into eight panels that will consider entries for certain assigned categories.
As opposed to last year, which only had two rounds, this year there will be three.
Round 1 today is for submissions online judging in order to shortlist finalists up to the top five finalists in each category.
Round 2 will require finalists to pitch themselves to the judges, which will take place on Jan 5.Round 3, which is held on Feb 2, will be attended by selected judges only to decide the winners for the Elite Entrepreneur of the Year and the Malaysian Business of the Year.
SOBA 2022 is organised by SMG with Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd, Digi, PKT Logistics Group and RHB Bank Bhd as main sponsors, TalentCorp Malaysia as co-sponsor and Matrade as official trade promotion partner.
Supported by Bursa Malaysia, it is audited by BDO with 988 and Suria as official media partners.
For more information on SOBA 2022, call SMG Events at 017-231 1789 or visit www.soba.com.my.
