9 winners from over 128 entries recognized for their entrepreneurial excellence in the kingdom
Bangkok, March 16th 2017 – Nine entrepreneurs were recognized for their entrepreneurial excellence during the Entrepreneur Now Awards 2017 (ENA) Night held recently organized by BNOW.org, a social enterprise focused on supporting entrepreneurs in the startup and SME eco-system.
During the keynote address delivered by Khun Salinee Wangtal, Director of The Office of Small Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), she said the entrepreneurs must continue to challenge themselves and take risks in their businesses. She said she was pleased to see how entrepreneurs in Thailand combine creativity and innovation into their product and services that are on par with those overseas. She added that OSMEP is providing support to all entrepreneurs and SMEs in the area of ecommerce, packaging and promotion.
This is the second year that the ENA is being held. Announced in August 2016, ENA attracted over 100 Thai and non-Thai entrepreneurs in Thailand representing a wide range of industries including tech, F&B, health, travel, construction, among others. Entrepreneurs were invited to complete an online application form and submit a 3-minute video about themselves and their company. Thirty entrepreneurs were then shortlisted and invited to a networking evening where they had the opportunity to meet with the judges and present their company.
Entries were judged on (1) uniqueness, (2) vision and potential growth, (3) value in Thailand & ASEAN, (4) eco-sustainability, (5) striking achievements, (6) overcoming challenges and (7) recognition and traction.
The judges said they were impressed by how seasoned most of the entrepreneurs were and that many had the “eye of the entrepreneur”. They also added that it was encouraging to see many social and eco-friendly entries, along with apps and technology products.
“Many of the entrepreneurs we met at the networking evening have a clear vision of where they want to go with their business,” said Romain Mathieu, Co-Founder and CEO of Aloe Drink For Life and one of the judges.
“Persistence, focus and innovation were what we were looking for in the entrepreneurs,” added another judge, Jacky Cheng, CEO and founder of Genius Minds.
Judges also advised entrepreneurs to find a mentor who could offer them guidance and support and suggested they participate in more Awards and competitions and continue to explore opportunities to expand their business.
Pacharee Pantoomano Pfirsch, Chairwoman and founder of bnow.org and the ENA, said 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.
“As an entrepreneur myself, I want to cultivate the entrepreneur culture in Thailand and support an eco-system to sustain it. I would eventually like to expand this to the ASEAN region, to support entrepreneurs and give them recognition as they also contribute largely to improving the country’s economy.”
Over THB 10 million worth of prizes were awarded to the nine winners, including five 1-day mentorship programs by leading entrepreneurs based in Thailand.
This year, the winners represented various industries including lifestyle application, construction, electricals, travel, fragrance, health and cleaning supplies.
Winners of Entrepreneur Now Awards 2017:
1. Outstanding female entrepreneur – Armelle Le Bihan from Green Building Consulting & Engineering – Technisoft
2. Eco entrepreneur- Armelle Le Bihan from Green Building Consulting & Engineering – Technisoft
3. Creative entrepreneur – Frederick Besson from Perfumist.fr
4. Innovative entrepreneur – Peter Wainman from Equator Pure Nature
5. Social enterprise entrepreneur – Kongkiat Kespechara from Sooksatharana Co.,Ltd.
6. Most entrepreneurial team – Remi Ducrocq from KYKLO
7. SME (50 employees to 100)- Anawach Kimhasawad from OneStock Home
8. Best new comer – Pirachai Bencharongkul from Boomphaw Co.,Ltd
9. Outstanding Entrepreneur – Somsak Bookam from Local Alike
Judges for ENA include: Alexandre Dupont, the Managing Director of Orbis Thailand, Artima Suraphongchai, Country Manager, iFlix, Nicky Surapaitoon, Country Manager Thailand, Tapp Commerce Thailand, Maik Fuellmann, Consultant, IKI-SEA, Bangkok University, Jacky Cheng, CEO and founder of Genius Minds and Romain Mathieu, Co-Founder and CEO of Aloe Drink For Life.
Sponsors for the awards include Brandnow Co., Ltd., YouGov, Thai Legal Counsels, The Work Loft, BMRS Asia, The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, AmPerformance, NLP Top Coach, Synergia One Group of Companies, Genius Minds International Sdn Bhd, Andovar, Schnellmedia Asia Co.Ltd., Cloudee,
Obex, Stonelotus Capital, Four Points by Sheraton, Wine Connection, Acer, Rembrandt Hotel and Jet Airways.
Community partners and media partners include Connecting Founder, GMASA, IKI-SEA, Bangkok University, Irish-Thai Chamber, Startup Bangkok, Thai-Italian Chamber, Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Travel Daily News, Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, Thai-Taiwan Business Association, Belgian-Luxembourg/Thai Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Technology Association, Thai-Finnish Chamber of Commerce, Mexico-Thai Chamber of Commerce, Growth Hacking Asia, Bangkok School of Management, Crowdfunding.asia, La French Tech, Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce, Thai e-Commerce Association, Class Act Media, Retail news, E27 and Top Funded.
#####
Photo caption:
Photo shows winners from left to right: Remi Ducrocq and KYKLO team from KYKLO (Most Entrepreneurial Team), Pitchsinee Intanon on behalf of Kongkiat Kespechara from Sooksatharana Co.,Ltd. (Social Enterprise Entrepreneur), Kanda Stanakulpanich on behalf of Peter Wainman from Equator Pure Nature (Innovative Entrepreneur), Frederick Besson from Perfumist.fr (Creative Entrepreneur), Somsak Bookam from Local Alike (Outstanding Entrepreneur), Pirachai Bencharongkul (Best Newcomer) and Armelle Le Bihan from Green Building Consulting & Engineering – Technisoft (Outstanding Female Entrepreneur & Eco Entrepreneur
About BNOW.org
Started in 2003 by a group of friends and professionals who want to make a difference in the community, BNOW.org is focused on supporting entrepreneurs in the startup and SME eco-system. BNOW.org’s Entrepreneur Now Awards aims to recognize enterprising people and teams operating in Thailand and it welcomes nominations from Thai and non-Thais. Awarded the social enterprise status by Thailand Social Enterprise Office, BNOW’s motto is to link and inspire. For more info, please visit www.bnow.org and www.entrepreneurnow.asia.
For further media enquiries, please contact:
Kittima Sethi 081-8262399 at kittima@brandnow.asia
Kachain Saengsuk (Chain) 091-8589912 at event@brandow.asia
