Sponsors, judges, entrants, advertisers and attendees at the Awards Night held in 2008 and 2009 say that the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards (IBA) Ceremony is a unique event that attracts businesses from all sectors of the New Zealand business community.
The Awards Sponsors were happy with their involvement, saying that IBA provides them with ample exposure, returning good value for money.
On the other side of the equation, sponsors enhance the brand image of IBA, drawing the attention of major corporates and businesses across the country’s commercial sector.
As our Title Sponsor this year, National Bank of New Zealand has added to the prestige and integrity of the Awards Scheme. Graham Turley, Managing Director (Commercial NZ) of ANZ Bank will present the ‘Supreme Business Award’ to the winner, while Andrew Webster, Regional Manager (Business Banking) of National Bank will honour the winner in the Best ‘Small Business’ category with a trophy.
The Categories
IBA 2010 boasts of eleven categories, including Best Large Business, Best Medium Business, Best Small Business, Best Retailer Business, Best Restaurant Business, Best Professional Services Business, Best Business Innovation, Best Marketing Excellence, Best Exporter to India Business, Best Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Best Businesswoman of the Year.
The last two categories were added this year.
The Sponsors
East Tamaki Health Care (ETHC), which has sponsored the ‘Best Large Business’ category is not only an icon in its field but also a model for the entire business sector. The Company won the ‘Supreme Business of the Year Award’ in 2009, a feat, which judges and others said was well deserved.
ETHC Chief Executive Dr Kanti Patel and Directors Ranjna Patel and Rakesh Patel believe in planned growth with appropriate business and marketing strategy. Their sponsorship of the ‘Best Large Business Award’ would have inspired a number of organisations to compete in this category this year.
WAML Group Chairman Wenceslaus Anthony, who has sponsored the ‘Best Medium Business Award’ jointly with the Chennai based Teledata Informatics Limited believes that healthy competition leads to healthy results with the customers deriving the comparative advantage.
He said apart from the exclusivity of the concept, the high level of integrity and prestige that IBA has established for itself in the market encouraged him to become a category sponsor.
“The Awards Scheme is an acknowledgment of business processes, business excellence and overall business success,” he said.
Although not a commercial organisation, the Supreme Sikh Council decided to sponsor the ‘Best Retail Business Award’ as a mark of its support to the business community.
“A large percentage of Indian businesses are in the retail sector and hence we found it appropriate to sponsor this category,” Council spokesman Lali Ranvir Singh said.
Millennium Group Managing Director Saji Philips has a passion for quality products backed by quality service.
“The food industry is one of the most important sectors in any economy and the restaurant business has evolved to be the single largest influencer of tastes. Restaurants should conform to concepts of safety, taste, hygiene and cuisine. I like the challenges in this exacting business and therefore we decided to sponsor the ‘Best Restaurant Business’ category again this year,” he said.
Kalamazoo Group Chief Executive & Managing Director Steve D’Souza and Director Odelia D’Souza attribute the impressive growth of the Company to professional services provided by professionally qualified staff. An exclusive story appears under Businesslink.
The Group is the sponsor of the ‘Best Professional Services Business’ category.
Stamford Plaza Hotel General Manager Peter Gee said innovation was the key to success in any business venture.
“Innovation has been a major motivating factor in the growth and success of our Hotel. It encourages staff to be involved and committed, promoting the overall quality of the product. We believe in the power of Innovation and hence decided to sponsor the ‘Best Business Innovation Award’ for the second year,” he said.
Mr Gee described Indian Newslink as a significant partner in reaching out to the Indian business community.
Robert Khan, Managing Director of Radio Tarana, which picked the ‘Best Marketing Excellence’ category, said successful commercial ventures are those that have a niche in the market through a sound marketing strategy.
Dream World New Zealand Limited, which is emerging as a major events organiser for companies and individuals found our ‘Best Exporter to India Business’ the ideal category for its operations. Director Sonia Kaushal said the Company was keen to offer its services that include travel, accommodation and ground support services.
Patton Group, sponsor of the ‘Best Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ is confident that given the right encouragement, New Zealand’s youth will progress to become successful owners and managers of commercial and industrial undertakings.
“This category emphasises our approach,” Chief Executive Sameer Handa said.
The ‘Best Businesswoman of the Year’ is an exciting category sponsored by TV3. Media Works Limited (which owns the television channel) Managing Director Sussan Turner said IBA was a great avenue to encourage businesses to improve their performance and profitability.
