Bizna SME Awards 2019 nominees revealed

Bizna Group Limited has announced the nominees for the upcoming inaugural Bizna SME Awards 2019 with several businesses contending for top honours in various categories.

Bizna Annual SMEs Awards 2019 seeks to recognise and celebrate small and medium-sized enterprises based on their performance, profitability, quality of products and customer relations.

The Gala event will be held on May 24^th in Nairobi and will bring together key players in the industry. The Awards is an initiative of Bizna Kenya, a leading marketing and business support provider for small businesses in Kenya.

Nominees are from various sectors of the economy including agribusiness, transport, real estate, tourism and hospitality, agribusiness, manufacturing, digital and social media, education and entertainment.

In the SME of the Year category, nominations go for Twinkle Pharmacy (healthcare products and services), Username Investments (real estate and development company), Sahihi Interior Builders and Expeditions Maasai Safaris (tours and travel).

Nominees under the manufacturing category are Kyle & Ibrahims Ltd (organic food products), Nyagah Mechanical Engineering Ltd (agricultural and construction machinery) and Dan Rays Creations (eco-friendly industrial energy).

In the tourism and hospitality category, the nominees are Expeditions Maasai Safaris Ltd (tours and travel), Africa Outdoor (travel services and events management), and Exquisite Events by You (events design and décor services).

The battle for honours in the most promising SME category will involve, SasaHost (web solutions provider), RoyalTrendia (digital and media services), and Atlanta Property Developer (real estate).

Online voting, has begun and will end at midnight on May 21, and the public can participate by visiting the Awards portal: https://smeawards.co.ke/vote/

Bizna Kenya CEO Tonnie Mello said the public vote will form part of the overall scoring for each nominee and asked Kenyans to participate in the process so that the list of winners can reflect true success in the SMEs sector.

“The judging panel used a weighted scoring system to come up with a list of nominees from names proposed by the public and business owners and we are taking back the process to Kenyans to decide on who to be awarded in the various categories. Public participation will help us make the process very transparent,” said Mello.

Through the Awards, Bizna Kenya is providing avenues for recognizing efforts by SMEs towards economic growth, development and empowerment.

It will also offer the businesses platforms to grow and be sustainable by mobilizing support to improve their access to capital.

Bizna SME Awards 2019 is partnership from Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nairobi chapter and sponsored by Bizna Group Limited and Zenka Kenya, a mobile loans provider based in Nairobi.

Bizna Kenya also runs the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, which identify and honours upcoming and industrious entrepreneurs below 35 years old.

Read: Waititu mocked as State House denies getting share of Kiambu budget

The second edition of the Awards aimed at creating a network of outstanding young entrepreneurs and encourage more to start their own businesses will be launched in June.