KUCHING: Local businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Sarawak have been invited to participate in the Platinum Business Awards (PBA) 2022 which will be held on Nov 29.
Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang said the PBA 2022 is an excellent avenue for Sarawakian SMEs to get noticed on the domestic and international fronts.
This will be especially encouraging for businesses and entrepreneurs in Sarawak that are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“SMEs form the backbone of Sarawak’s economy, representing around 98 per cent of all registered businesses in Sarawak, according to the Ministry of Industrial Development.
“In 2020, there were almost 70,000 micro and SMEs operating here, providing business and job opportunities to Sarawakians,” he said when officiating at the Sarawak Roadshow of PBA 2022 held at Hilton Hotel Kuching yesterday (July 26).
He added that with this platform, SMEs and entrepreneurs have a new gateway to earn industry acknowledgement for their achievements.
“Winning an industry-acclaimed award brings enhanced visibility to a company and, on a macro level, significantly wider market recognition that Sarawak SMEs truly deserve for their products and services.
“I believe it is timely to show the world our diversity of talent, wealth of ideas and abundance of potential,” he said.
With the theme ‘Resilience. Globalisation. Digitalisation’, PBA2022 benchmarks the business performance and quality standards of SMEs and individuals in 18 award categories by nomination and four categories by invitation.
To motivate SMEs embarking upon sustainable business practices and the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) era, four new categories – SME Environmental, Social and Governance Adoption Award, SME IR4.0 Adoption Award, SME Business Resilience Award and SME Sustainable Development Goals Excellence Award – have been introduced.
PBA award nominees undergo an assessment process which includes auditor site visits, culminating in the selection of winners by a selection board chaired by KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific president Tan Sri Michael Yeoh, joined by other captains of industry.
PBA2022 is audited by SFAI Malaysia with Fusionex as technology partner, Skynet Worldwide as official courier and OE Edutech as official strategic partner.
Major event sponsors are Hong Leong Bank, Boost Biz, Maxis, RHB Bank, MIDF and RMA while network sponsors are AmLeisure Group, DayOne DayOne, Felement, Homevest, Ipay 88, RAM, SBH and V Image.
PBA2022 is open for online nominations until Aug 31 and details are available at https://pba.smemalaysia.org/ and through the awards secretariat at 03-8024 5787 (Cynthia).
Also present at the Sarawak Roadshow of PBA2022 were SME Malaysia National Secretary General and PBA2022 organising chairman Chin Chee Seong and SME Association of Sarawak president Jordan Ong.
