In the TBC business support project ‘Business Award 2022,’ the jury has identified the finalist companies. In total, 14 finalists were selected in 5 nominations.
This year, Business Award participants will also have the opportunity to win two special awards – for gender equality and green initiatives. UN Women established a special award for gender equality, and GCPF (Global climate partnership fund) for green initiatives.
The method of identifying the winners has also been partially changed. This year, for the first time, consumers will also be involved in the process of evaluating the winners, and will participate in the nomination of wiining companies for outstanding consumer experience. Another partner of the project, research company ANOVA, is providing customer research for the participating businesses.
About 3,000 companies have participated in the Business Award over the last 7 years This year a record number of 412 companies expressed their desire to participate. The goal of the project is to encourage small and medium-sized businesses, increase their awareness, and promote the formation of a business community. There is only a short time left before the final award ceremony, which will be held this month.
The partners of the project are VISA (the main sponsor) and “Produce in Georgia”.
The Business Awards allow innovative companies like ours to give a voice to potential customers, increase their awareness, and grow their business
We spoke to representatives of some of the Finalists to get their take on their feelings towards the Awards and their nominations.
Giorgi Dzneladze, Wheelchair Factory:
“We are very happy to participate in such an award and it is a great honor that the jury chose us as a finalist. This is already a success for us, because more people have heard about us and our work. We want to increase that awareness, and victory in the nomination will help us a lot.”
Ani Chelishvili, BTU: “BTU realizes its role in the country’s development process, feels high social responsibility, and cares about raising public awareness and strengthening the role of women in technology. That’s why we decided to participate in the 2022 Business Award. The victory will further contribute to increasing awareness of the university and its projects among the general public, attracting new partner companies and in the future even more training and employment of more beneficiaries, including women.”
Irakli Beselidze, Calen AI: “The Business Awards allow innovative companies like ours to give a voice to potential customers, increase their awareness, and grow their business. A win will bring us at least 200,000 GEL equivalent benefits in the form of new clients and media coverage.”
Giorgi Baratashvili, Station Bahnhof Sadguri: “It is great to be a finalist of the TBC Business Awards. For us, this is not only a very good way to introduce and have more people fall in love with the ‘Station’, at the same time, it is an incentive not to stop, to develop more and to offer new things to our guests every year.”
Irakli Svanidze, Artisio: “Artisio is a unique and innovative auction management SaaS system that brings together all areas of auction business management in one integrated piece of software. Getting to the finals of the TBC Business Awards is a great honor and additional motivation for us. We wanted to share our significant achievements with others. We believe that the success story of Artisio is one of the visible examples of the fact that a high-tech product can be created in Georgia, which will make innovative changes in a specific industry, will be calculated on an international scale and will successfully meet the needs of the world market.”
Misho Zghuladze, Kernel: “The Business Award organized by TBC Bank is a great contribution to the innovative business ecosystem of Georgia and we are very happy that we managed to reach the finals.”
Marika Gabadze, Logicmeter: “Winning a Business Award is a way to make education a priority in reality and in practice. Let’s not forget that we need innovations, reorganization in the field, encouragement, development of new standards and implementation of international successful practices. The Business Awards are a way to analyze that only education will save us. I think TBC understands the magnitude of the challenges well, and expressed their solidarity towards education.”
Nino Baramidze, ATOM Kids: “Atom Kids is an innovative company that creates STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) toys. Our experimental kit is very important for children of an early age. The idea of Atom Kids is to study the complex phenomena of the world through experimental games at home. For Atom Kids, reaching the finals of the Best Product is a great incentive for the company’s development. First of all, it is raising awareness, which will additionally allow us to make as many children as possible become ‘Atom Kids’ scientists. We believe that every child is a scientist.”
Archil Firiashvili, Veli.Store: “The Business Award is a very interesting project that has already established itself in the Georgian space, and it is very interesting for us as a startup to participate in it. This competition helps us to once again see the result of our daily time and efforts, which the customer constantly recognizes. The existence of such projects is vital for the development of Georgian businesses and we are glad to be a part of it. In Veli.Store, the customer is always at the center of attention, and all processes, from entering the website, to receiving the parcel and beyond, are adjusted to their comfort and needs as much as possible.”
Archil Zambakhidze, Pazza: “A key motivating element for us has been to constantly strive to instill our signature, and direct and honest communication with the customer. We’ve never done it for the sake of getting recognition. But, as it turns out, your genuine attitude can make you stand out in the Business Award finals. This is where you realize that you are doing something right. This is the main motivation.”
Marisha Gogolauri, Episode: “Episode hotel is the first technological hotel in the region, creating a new experience in the hospitality industry. Participation in the Business Award is another recognition for us, which is certainly a great incentive for the team. It is also important that we are nominated for the Best Experience, which is actually the main driver of our team – to create the best experience.”
Beso Kacharava, POST RED: “Our company makes sound design and music for films, commercials and any visual media. We mainly work in export and cooperate with big companies like Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Netflix, etc. Regarding our participation in this event, our goal is for more people to understand what opportunities exist in this direction in Georgia.”
By Mariam Mtivlishvili
