The nominees of the 2019 Entrepreneurship Award are now revealed
The nominees for the Entrepreneurship Award competition organised by Enterprise Estonia and the Estonian Employers’ Confederation have been revealed. The best companies in five categories will be announced at the award ceremony on 11 October.
In cooperation with experts in various fields, the jury selected the top three companies in five categories – Exporter of the Year, Foreign Investor of the Year, Design Applier of the Year, Family Enterprise of the Year, and Innovator of the Year.
Director of the Trade Development Agency of Enterprise Estonia Tanel Rebane said that in addition to economic indicators, the company’s values, innovation, and contribution to society were also taken into account when choosing the best ones. “It is worth highlighting that there was extraordinary competition in the exporter category this year. Therefore, we decided to announce all the top ten exporters in addition to the three nominees,” Rebane explained and added that all the companies that apply for the award are worthy of recognition.
The nominees for the Exporter of the Year are: a manufacturer of organic cosmetic products Eurobio Lab OÜ, a well-established paper manufacturer “Horizon” Tselluloosi ja Paberi AS and the last year’s Company of the Year Cleveron AS. The top ten also included the following companies: Admiral Markets Group AS, Ampler Bikes OÜ, AS Operail, CM Tallinn AS, Nortal AS, PKC Eesti AS, and SK ID Solutions AS.
The competitors of the Foreign Investor of the Year are: an electronics manufacturer Ericsson Eesti AS, a pulp mill Estonian Cell AS, and one of the largest car manufacturers in the world Daimler AG, who has invested in well-known Estonian companies, such as Bolt and Starship Technologies in the recent years.
The Design Applier of the Year will be chosen among Topia OÜ , which provides large companies with a mobile workforce management solution, HUUM OÜ, which produces remotely controlled design heaters, and Evocon OÜ, which provides production equipment monitoring solutions. All three are united by the availability of unique products or services in the world and the prioritisation of design and user experience.
For the second year in a row, the Family Enterprise of the Year is also awarded in order to recognise companies that are run by families from several generations. This year’s nominees are the importer of brands represented in the Denim Dream stores and Põldma Kaubanduse AS, which is engaged in retail and wholesale, Rõngu Pagar OÜ, which started already in 1996, and T-Tammer OÜ, which manufacturers windows and doors for the construction and maritime sectors.
The category of the Innovator of the Year aims at recognising companies that have made economic progress through the development of innovations. The nominees for the 2019 Innovator of the Year are Comodule OÜ, which develops the technology of the Internet of Things for electric bicycles and electric scooters, Mainor Ülemiste AS, which develops the business campus of Ülemiste City, and SK ID Solutions AS, which has specialised in the international e-identity solutions.
The best will be announced at the gala “Best Estonian Companies 2019” on the evening of 11 October, which can also be seen on ETV the same evening. Furthermore, the most successful companies and entrepreneurship promoters of the competition of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry “Competitiveness Ranking 2019” will be announced and the Award of the Young Entrepreneur will be handed over at the gala.
The competition “Entrepreneurship Award” is the highest state recognition for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship and, at the same time, the longest-running entrepreneurship competition in Estonia. The competition will be organised by Enterprise Estonia and Estonian Employers’ Confederation and the goal is to promote entrepreneurship and highlight more ambitious Estonian companies. In total, nearly 100 companies applied for the award this year.
The Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry will simultaneously be organising the competition “Competitiveness Ranking”. As part of this competition, the overall ranking of the competitiveness of companies is drawn up on the basis of the economic indicators of the companies. In addition to drawing up industry leader-boards, the best companies are selected based on the size of the company.
The overall winner or the 2019 Company of the Year will be selected from the top performers in both competitions.