The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has announced the winners of the first edition of the MCA eBusiness Awards, aimed at acknowledging unique and innovative local web-based solutions applied by businesses for businesses and society at large.
During the final ceremony the 19 shortlisted solutions were presented and the winners under each category were announced. The winner for each category is:
• The Best eGovernment Initiative – IR Services online.
• The Best use of technology in education and training – MIM EB-learn.
• The Best eHealth initiative – SMS4Health.
• The Best Maltese eCommerce site – bowandribbon.com.mt
• The Best use of online media – Property Book.
• The Best B2B supply chain and finally – Lufthansa Cargo.
• The Best indigenous enterprise of the year – Seasus Ltd.
• eBusiness Excellence Award – Seasus Ltd.
The authority received a promising 36 nominations for this first edition of the awards. The adjudication was conducted by an independent committee comprising representatives from industry, government and academia, which assessed each nominated solution against criteria on which the committee based its final judgments.
“We would like to thank the MCA for this laudable initiative supporting the local industry and are honoured to have received such a recognition for our work in eBusiness and particularly social media,” commented Kenneth Bone, managing director of Seasus Ltd, the winner of two awards. “These awards are a strong encouragement for us to continue with our research and innovation programmes in 2012.”
Parliamentary Assistant in the Ministry for Industry, Transport and Communication, Charlò Bonnici, said: “When it comes to eBusiness, the government must work on two fronts. On one front we must be there to enable and support the leading firms transform their ideas into a profitable solution for their enterprise and a contribution to the economy. On the other front the government needs to continue helping the other firms to understand the real potential of the net and how this could be applied to their specific business needs. Policy needs to balance both in order to ensure economic growth and to weather the trying times being faced on a global level.”
In his closing speech Philip Micallef, executive chairman of the MCA, highlighted the importance of this event. “This is just another initiative built on the MCA’s strong belief that the experts out there are none other than the businesses themselves. Innovation, creativity and success are also a reality. The least we can do is to learn from other business’s success by showcasing these initiatives through fora such as this,” he said.