Companies can enter the competition until February 14, taking into account the judging criteria for each category, by filling in the online form or by contacting the organizers at events@business-review.ro and +40 31 040 09 31.
1. BEST COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
A. Best community development initiative for companies
- Mega Image for “Blood Donation” project
- OMV Petrom for “Vocational Summer Camp” project
- eMAG Foundation for “We care” project
- BCR for “Money School on Wheels” project
- Fundatia Vodafone Romania for ”Connecting for Good” program
Winner: OMV Petrom for “Vocational Summer Camp” project
B. Best community development initiative for NGOs
- Daruieste Viata for the first Pediatric Oncology Hospital in Romania.
- MagiCAMP for MagicHOME
- Teach for Romania for Leadership Summer Academy
- Habitat for Humanity Romania for Big Build 2017
- Lindenfeld Association - Growing Great
Winner: Daruieste Viata for the first Pediatric Oncology Hospital in Romania.
This year, for the first time, the Community Development category awards initiatives of companies, on the one hand and NGOs, on the other hand. It recognizes the efforts made by Romanian companies or foreign companies doing business locally, as well as NGOs, that demonstrated commitment to implementing medium and long term programs/projects that aim to support the community they operate in. This category rewards involvement in community development programs with high impact on the society.
- Proven social impact of the business / initiative (community impact)
- Developing long term programs or projects for the local communities (long term commitment to the local community)
- The initiatives coming from companies meet a real need of the community (e.g. education, social intervention, health, environment, technology)
- Being transparent to the local community by publishing annual sustainability reports (GRI 4)
3. BEST EMPLOYER INITIATIVE
Nominees:
- Autonom
- DB Global Technology
- Mega Image
- Zitec
- Tremend Software Consulting
Winner: Mega Image
The award recognizes the HR endeavors of companies, multinational or local, made in an increasingly competitive Romanian market. Aspects of interest include the recruitment policies, training efforts, retention programs included in the project, benchmarked against the wider context of the company’s investment and presence in Romania.
- Innovation and effectiveness of the program
- Impact on the company business or society overall
- Look at the net personnel increase vs. the net of the industry (percentage also)
- Look at the industry growth and its importance for the Romanian economy
- Qualitative reviews: employees feedback, employer branding efforts, NPS scores, or any other internal KPIs (engagement, retention, personnel turnover)
5. EMERGING ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Alexandru Voiculescu – Purequad
- Andrei Botescu – Pegas
- Lavinia Vladu – CV30
- Nicoleta Chirica – Iutta
- Radu Savopol – 5 to go
Winner: Radu Savopol – 5 to go
This award recognizes the entrepreneurial efforts and achievements of a local emerging business person who has managed to develop a successful regional or national business (expansion on the local and other foreign markets, significant organic growth, high potential for development of their business both on a local or international market).
- Development of the business over the past year
- Sustainable growth of their business
- Potential to become a major player in their specific industry / sector at national level and/or abroad
- Look at the ethics and values exemplified in the business
- The pace of increasing its annual turnover
7. BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR
Nominees:
- Dan Isai – Salad Box, Narcoffee and Donuteria
- Iulian Stanciu – eMAG
- Omer Tetik – Banca Transilvania
- Steven van Groningen – Raiffeisen Bank
- Vasileios Stavrou – Mega Image
Winner: Omer Tetik – Banca Transilvania
This award recognizes remarkable achievements of business people who go above and beyond their daily roles and responsibilities as heads of local and international companies in Romania. The Jury will take into account the company’s results (measured against the market conditions in the respective industry, the resources used to achieve it, the individual experience and innovation aspect), as well as specific leadership initiatives – in and outside the company, such as the involvement of the candidates in improving the business environment and in trying to solve some of the society’s current challenges.
- The main business achievements of the nominated person’s past year of tenure
- Results of any projects/initiatives (not necessarily connected to the core business) done to support the overall business environment in Romania
- Evidence of the nominee’s achievements and role as a leader within the community
9. BEST START-UP
Nominees:
- Clever Tech (Clever Taxi)
- CyberSwarm Inc.
- Nalu
- TypingDNA
- Kinderpedia
Winner: TypingDNA
The award recognizes the most promising start-up that has the potential to bring major changes in a certain industry. It takes into account the innovation factor of the service or product that the start-up is working on and the potential growth patterns. The award also looks at other recognition that the start-up has previously received and the manner in which the start-up has been able to finance its operations up to now.
- General: description of the start-up; the year in which it launched its service or product; age of start-up: up to 3 years; profile of founder(s)
- Objectives & Strategy: innovation factor, concept quality, disruption potential
- Evidence of Results: financing type, growth potential, recognitions, business achievements, impact on overall start-up scene
11. GREEN PROJECT
Nominees:
- Banca Transilvania for Transylvania Forest
- Fundatia Conservation Carpathia
- Kaufland Romania for “Gradinescu” project
- Raiffeisen Bank Romania for “I’Velo Urban” project
- Vacaresti Natural Park Association for The Birds of the City
Winner: Raiffeisen Bank Romania for “I’Velo Urban” project
This category awards companies/ NGOs that make a significant contribution to environmental protection, by implementing projects with a high positive impact on the environment and the society, as a whole. It also aims to recognize their efforts to educate Romanians in the spirit of recycling and protecting the environment.
- The real impact of the project on the environment
- It should be a long term commitment / initiative
- The investment made in the project
- Its potential to be developed nationwide
2. COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION IN TECHNOLOGY
Nominee:
- ABB for National Centre for Direct and Assisted Training for Robotics
- UiPath for UiPath Platform
- Vodafone and OMV Petrom for NB-IoT
- SAP Romania for Bucharest Data Science and Machine Learning
- DB Global Technology
Winner: UiPath for UiPath Platform
This award recognizes novel, innovation and research driven strategies, developed in/for Romania. The category is meant to cover the many developments related to the introduction of new products, services or campaigns, and the roll-out of R&D oriented investments.
- Innovation and research-driven orientation of the strategy implemented
- Investment made, amount and performance against other markets where the company is present
4. ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Nominee:
- Dragos Anastasiu – Eurolines Group
- Geo Margescu – Forte Partners
- Mihai Rotaru – Clever Tech (Clever Taxi)
- Iulian Stanciu – eMAG
- Razvan Voica – Informal School of IT
Winner: Iulian Stanciu – eMAG
This award recognizes the entrepreneurial efforts and achievements of a local business person who has managed to develop a successful regional or national business, looking either at the innovative nature of the business started or at the growth parameters and the created value.
- Development of the business over the years
- Unique characteristics of the business
- Results achieved against investment and the overall industry
- Look at the ethics and values exemplified in the business
- The added value of his/her business on the market
- The effort made to support and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs
6. DEAL OF THE YEAR
Nominee:
- Axxess Capital Partners for Bitdefender transaction
- Coresi Business Park Office for being acquired by Immochan Romania
- Sphera Franchise Group for its IPO
- Clever Tech for selling Clever Taxi to Mytaxi
- TeraPlast for buying Interlemind, Depaco and Politub
Winner: Axxess Capital Partners for Bitdefender transaction
This category acknowledges the most important business transactions of the previous year, regardless of the transaction type. It recognizes the deal that had the biggest impact and significance in 2017, in financial terms and in the development of the local economy, or of a particular industry. It looks at the degree of novelty of the respective transaction and at the way in which the deal stands out on the local or regional business scene.
- Value of the transaction
- Impact within the industry/ local business scene and economy as a whole
- Novelty elements characteristic to the transaction.
8. EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS
Nominee:
- Banca Transilvania
- eMAG
- Kaufland Romania
- Profi Rom Food
- UiPath
Winner: eMAG
This award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a local business over a longer period of time, looking at aspects such as innovative character, development achievements, market share and the overall relevance for the local business environment.
- The strategy for development in the past years
- Business growth over the previous year
- Unique endeavors to support the local business community
- Sustainable development strategy
- Top market position
- Exceptional business growth compared with peers
10. LOCAL SMART INITIATIVE
Nominee:
- Alba Iulia Municipality for its efforts to make Alba Iulia a Smart City.
- Cluj-Napoca Municipality for Participatory Budgeting Cluj-Napoca
- OMV Petrom for the Electric Hub
- Vodafone Romania Foundation for Tandem – Visually impaired project
- Immochan Romania for Coresi District
Winner: Alba Iulia Municipality for its efforts to make Alba Iulia a Smart City.
This award recognizes the impact of projects or initiatives that companies/ NGOs/ public authorities implemented in order to improve and ease the life of citizens from different Romanian cities, while transforming them into smart cities. It also aims to recognize the efforts made by companies to transform Romanian cities into smart ones, using technology and / or innovative technologies.
- The economic and social impact on the city/region where the initiative has been implemented
- The added value to the society/city/community in terms of easing the life of citizens
- The innovative character of the initiative / project
- The potential of the project / initiative to be implemented in other cities too