Top in Tech Innovation Awards to recognise outstanding leaders

The inaugural Top in Tech Innovation Awards by Malaysiakini and Digital News Asia, with the support of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), aims to recognise outstanding stories of innovation and digital adoption by Malaysian businesses during this very challenging time. 

Over the past year, the nation has witnessed an economic downturn due to various lockdown measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak. Businesses were at a halt, individuals retrenched, education was interrupted and frontliners were at war to save lives. On the bright side, the nation has also witnessed how technology acceleration, especially through digital adoption, coupled with innovation has been a powerful mechanism in paving the way to uplift the economy out of a downturn. 

With so many great stories of how businesses have responded and reacted and even managed to accelerate growth, it is imperative that the Top In Tech Innovation Awards honours these innovators, businesses, and their massive efforts that reflect the best face of Malaysia Boleh. 

“As the ministry responsible for driving our country forward through science, technology and innovation, the recognition of this award to companies, agencies and individuals who bring positive socio-economic impact to society is timely as it can serve as the motivator for the industry community and others to always be mindful of innovation, despite the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. This effort also complements the national development agenda based on the spirit of Keluarga Malaysia. I encourage you to submit your entry as your innovation story matters.” YB Dato’ Sri Dr. Adham Bin Baba Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation said. 

The Awards will recognise and salute innovators, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, academicians and government agencies for their outstanding contributions to the community and economy through digital adoption and innovative thinking, in the midst of an unprecedented health and socioeconomic crisis. 

Selecting such outstanding performers demands an outstanding group of judges and here, we are honoured to have a peerless group of innovative leaders from Corporate Malaysia who will be the Lead Judges in their respective award categories: 

• Innovator of The Year: Afzal Abdul Rahim, Chief Executive Officer, TIME dotCom
• Best Brick & Mortar Adoption: Raja Teh Maimunah, Managing Director Wholesale Banking, Ambank Group 
• Most Promising: Dr Sivapalan Vivekarajah, Senior Partner & Co-Founder, ScaleUp Malaysia Accelerator,
• Most Impactful Public Sector Agency Driving Digital Adoption: Dato’ Seri Wong Siew Hai, President, Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association
• Most Impactful Academia-Industry Collaboration: Thillai Raj, Senior Technology Advisor, Wise Al 
• Best Pivot: Joel Neoh, Co-Founder, Fave 
• Most Innovative: Ganesh Kumar Bangah, Executive Chairman, Commerce.Asia 

Including the Lead Judge, each category will have five judges who will seek innovators that fulfil criterias which comprises innovativeness, scalability, technology applications, business strategies, economic contribution and the impact on their customers/ community. 

With the support of MOSTI, the Top in Tech Innovation Awards is also held in collaboration with our sponsor, ICT Zone Asia Berhad, together with ecosystem leaders, featuring MyDigital, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), PIKOM, SME Association Malaysia, Malaysian Consortium of Mid-Tier Companies (MCMTC), Selangor Information Technology & Digital Economy Corporation (SIDEC), Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Digital Penang, Digital Marketing Association Malaysia (DMAM), Internet Alliance and Exabytes Network. 

The awards presentation will be taking place on 9th December 2021 (Thursday) at Technology Park Malaysia. The ceremony will be presented through a hybrid networking cocktail setting, in which only invited guests will be in the audience, together with LIVE streaming across different social media platforms. However, the event is also planned to be conducted virtually if there is a spike in Covid-19 cases. 

“Digital News Asia has an incredible track record of reporting high-quality top tech news in Malaysia for nearly 10 years. We are honoured to partner with such a professionally dedicated organisation to reach out to Malaysian companies that have been doing well all along with innovators at the top of their game,” Premesh Chandran, CEO of Malaysiakini said. 

Championing business transformation through technology adoption, the organiser welcomes industry players from startups to growing companies, technopreneurs, universities, polytechnics, private organisations, government agencies and others to participate in the Top in Tech Innovation Awards 2021 – which highlights and honours the outstanding achievement and contribution in the following seven categories: 

1. Most Innovative (two categories: Startup & Growth Company)
2. Most Promising (two categories: Startup & Growth Company)
3. Best Pivot (two categories: Startup & Growth Company)
4. Best Brick & Mortar Adoption
5. Most Impactful Academia-Industry Collaboration
6. Most Impactful Public Sector Agency Driving Digital Adoption
7. Innovator of The Year 

“We need positive and uplifting stories to encourage and motivate us to always remain innovative and hopeful in a very challenging environment. Knowing that there are many leaders who have responded with courage and conviction in the face of the pandemic on leveraging technology to create positive impact, we therefore must play our role, as independent and respected media, in recognising those amazing companies, entrepreneurs and corporate leaders for their efforts. And we hope the Awards will inspire others to adopt a similar positive and innovative mindset,” Karamjit Singh, CEO, Digital News Asia. 

The winners of respective categories will be honoured with exclusive prizes in recognition of their technological ingenuity that brings innovation to life for a better future. 

Please note that all entries must be submitted online through the Top in Tech Innovation Awards website and must reach the organiser by 30th November 2021 (Tuesday). No payment is required for the submissions. 

We look forward to receiving your entries and don’t miss out on the golden opportunity to shine on the big stage! #YourInnovationStoryMatters 

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