WINDHOEK – The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) announced the winners of the Good Business Awards and Innovation Award at an event held in Windhoek last week on Wednesday.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, DBN Board member Albie Basson said the current evolution of Vision 2030 envisages more emphasis on human capital.
He pointed out that this approach would develop thinkers and intellectual capacity that will lead to visionary ideas.
Basson added that innovation is a potential resource for the future provided it is nurtured with forethought for its potential in enterprise and finance.
The winners of the several awards were all from the transport and logistics sector, with the Innovation Award going to a financial products related to the transport sector.
DBN communication manager, Jerome Mutumba, said this was not a bias towards the sector but due to excellent performance of each company from among entries across all sectors, as rated by a panel of DBN and independent external judges.
Innovation Award
The Innovation Award was won by Namib Industrial Group’s product ‘Eenda Nawa – Go Safe’. Eenda Nawa is travel insurance for persons using public transport, particularly taxis and long distance buses. Members of the public using any form of transport on Namibian roads may send an SMS to Eenda Nawa as payment for insurance to cover accidents during the 24-hour period subsequent to the SMS.
Namib Industrial Group identified a gap in the market for insurance cover on Namibian roads, and cited the nation’s relatively high number of accidents.
In the event of an accident, the product provides payouts to individuals and/or families, depending on the cover selected.
The cover is applicable to hospitalisation and funeral expenses.
Runners-up for the Innovation Award were Smart Solutions and Malakia Tyre Recycling.
Large Enterprise winner
The winner in the category Large Enterprise was The Six Thousand Transport CC. The transport company received DBN finance to expand its truck fleet to provide contracted transport to large manufacturers, subcontracts to large logistic groups and provides transport for smaller retailers. The expansion added nine new employees to an existing 18 employees. Indirectly, the additional revenue contributes to employment of approximately 327 employees in sister companies within the group.
Tungeni Africa Investments and J&A Popular Inn, runners-up in the Large Enterprise category, were awarded certificates of merit.
SME winner
The winner in the category for SMEs was Raino’s Trucks. Raino’s Trucks specialises in repairs to trucks and delivery vehicles. It has workshops in Windhoek, Ondangwa, Grootfontein and Khorixas.
The company has contracts with the government and the Windhoek Municipality. It has twice been financed by DBN, once to acquire premises in Windhoek, and once for premises in Grootfontein.
The company employs 43 people.
Runner-up SMEs Olupembana Bricks and Okozozepa Investments received certificates of merit.
Selection and independent external judges
Nominees were selected by members of the DBN staff. The winners and most meritorious entries were rated by a panel of judges consisting of internal judges and independent external judges.
The external judges for the Good Business Awards consisted of Digu //Naobeb (CEO: Namibia Tourism Board), Taara Shanika (CEO: Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and Danny Meyer (Director: SMEs Compete). Taara Shanika assisted as independent external judge of the Innovation Award.
Judging Criteria
Scores for the Large Enterprise and SME categories were judged on similar baseline criteria, with additional criteria appropriate to the category.
The baseline criteria were development impact, business administration and corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility included upliftment of employees and communities. Scores for the Innovation Award were calculated on the basis of innovation, viability and development impact.
All finalists made presentations on their enterprises and the understanding of their enterprise which together with the quality of their presentations was added to the combined score.