The Entrepreneur Country Awards, sponsored by Kleinwort Benson, is set to become one of the UK's most prestigious entrepreneurial awards ceremonies with winners voted for by the 30,000 strong Entrepreneur Country community, an event truly by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs.
The RiGB provided a sensational venue for the evening which avoided the clichéd black tie function and instead focused on entrepreneurs and their achievements. The champagne reception included a live performance by dance music act Cherry Byte, fronted by successful global entrepreneur Dr Sally Ernst.
Entrepreneur Country Forum keynote speakers Theo Paphitis, Steve Lewis and Mike Parsons were amongst the guests that honoured the winners across five categories identified as the foundation stones to being a Entrepreneur Country Citizen in 2011: Innovation, Growth, Green Enterprise, Exit and applauding and learning from contemporaries.
The first prize of the evening, the Entrepreneurs' Entrepreneur Award, sponsored by Hexagon was presented to Paul Barry-Walsh of Fredricks Foundation. The award is presented annually to the individual recognised by the Entrepreneur Country community as making the biggest contribution to the promotion of entrepreneurship. Paul was congratulated for the singularly outstanding and significant role he has played in promoting the growth of business enterprise and entrepreneurial skills in the UK.
With the ever increasing importance of the green sector to the UK economy the Green Enterprise Award sponsored by Greenbang was presented to energy management specialists Sentec and their CEO Dr Mark England. The award recognized Sentec's positive contribution to green sector growth during 2010 and outstanding contribution to green technology innovation whilst also demonstrating exceptional growth over the last three years, during which time the company more than trebled its overseas earnings to £4.3m.
The RiGB was a abuzz throughout the awards ceremony, with entrepreneurs across multiple sectors positive and upbeat about the economic recovery and the future of the UK. The third of the evenings awards, The Hyper Growth Award sponsored by Kashflow was collected by Errol Damlin CEO of Wonga. Wonga won praise for their use innovative technology to disrupt and progressively redefine the lending market. With an award winning customer experience the recipient of this award has challenged more established lenders and has seen revenues topping £15m in 2010.
Ed Wray, founder of online betting giant Betfair, was a popular winner as he collected the award for Best Exit Award, sponsored by Barclays, which was presented to the company in recognition as having achieved outstanding performance through to exit whether via an IPO or trade sale. The award factored in investment returns, investment holding period, size of transaction and strategic importance of the exit route. The judging panel were unanimous in their decision and plaudits for this years winners, citing exceptional financial returns, strong growth and innovation strategies, and market prominence in the sector. An outstanding 2010 included an October flotation on the London stock market that valued the company at £1.4bn ($2.2bn).
The final award of the evening shone a spot light on the wealth of exciting and innovative new companies which will fuel the UK's economic growth in years to come. The Most Innovative Start-up Award sponsored by Microsoft, went to a rising star in their sector who in a short period of time since inception have demonstrated exceptional disruptive tendencies and who look set be a long-term game changer. Struq, were commended for the scope of their ambition and exceptional innovation. The judges recognized the inventiveness of their business model and the exceptional potential they have to disrupt the traditional advertising market.
The Excellence Awards ceremony was followed by a meal and frenetic networking concluded an exceptional day for the Entrepreneur Country team, the RIGB having earlier played host to the Entrepreneur Country Winter Forum. With the entrepreneurial community requiring a powerful and dynamic national voice, Entrepreneur Country has set the scene for an exciting 12 months to come with a series of seminars, events and new publications being announced just days after the relaunch of their website www.entrepreneurcountry.com.
