SOBA 2023 second-round judging draws admiration of judges

Knowledge hub: The SOBA second-round judging held at Menara Star, Petaling Jaya with SMG chief business officer Lydia Wang (front, third from left) with chief judges BAM president Datin Winnie Loo (front, fourth from left), PUMM vice-president Datuk Dr Teh Tai Yong (front, fifth from left) and Malaysia Retail Chain Association vice-president Datuk Vincent Choo (front, far right), BAM vice-president Datuk Jennifer Ong (second row, far left), Pikom adviser David Wong Nan Fay (back row second from left), PUMM vice-president Arlene Tan Eng Guat (second row, second from right), RAM Capital Sdn Bhd, Origination and Marketing of Bursa Malaysia head Wong Kong Loong (back, second from left) and other judges.

PETALING JAYA: The second round of judging for the Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2023 concluded on Jan 4.

Hosted by Star Media Group (SMG), the judging session was part of the search for the year’s most successful businesses and will culminate in a gala event to be held on March 7.

Starting at 9am with a judges briefing by auditors BDO, the finalists then gave virtual presentations of their business models, their challenges, successes and plans for the future to an eight-panel judging team of 23 industry experts in Menara Star.

The finalists are judged according to two different tiers, up to RM25mil and above RM25mil in sales turnover.

Each finalist was allotted 10 minutes to pitch to the judges, after which the judges deliberated over who would proceed to the third and final round on Jan 30, where the Outstanding Achievement Awards for Elite Entrepreneur of the Year, either for the Male, Female and Young categories, the Malaysian Business of the Year award (one for each tier) and winners for the Best in Customer Service category will be determined.

This year’s entries were a mixed lot, with Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia deputy president Amirhamzah Karim mentioning that the entries had a good spread covering new areas.

Malaysian Digital Association council member Pranav Jha, who was judging for SOBA for the first time, said, “The entries were of high quality due to the product innovation and tech roadmap that the finalists presented and they all presented with utmost passion about their products.”

Branding Association of Malaysia (BAM) honorary secretary Nicholas Gan said, “It’s heartening to see so many Malaysian gems. The effort invested to build the business and their story is inspiring. Well deserving to be shared with all Malaysians.”

National Tech Association of Malaysia (Pikom) adviser Woon Tai Hai, however, pointed out that he feels the quality of the presentations could be improved. “Perhaps some coaching for the shortlisted ones may help,” he suggested.

The judges agreed that taking part in awards such as SOBA allows companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to build and scale up their businesses. Amirhamzah said the awards provide an endorsement of the winning company’s innovation in pursuing a strategy on a bigger stage.

“It’s a fantastic platform for knowledge sharing and getting SMEs to be part of a community where they can receive some valuable lessons on what else they can do to improve,” said Pranav.

Gan said that awards like SOBA help SMEs to benchmark themselves among the best from all industries. “Also the willingness to be judged and not win will only help build the heart and soul of the business,” he added.

SOBA 2023 is organised by SMG with CelcomDigi Bhd, Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd, PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd as the main sponsors, and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp as the official trade-promotion partner.

Supported by Bursa Malaysia, SOBA is audited by BDO while radio stations 988 and Suria are official media partners. For more information, call SMG Events (017-231 1789) or go to www.soba.com.my.