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LONDON, June 12, 2014
: The Financial Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced the winners of the inaugural FT/IFC Transformational Business Awards, with Bima, the Swedish mobile microinsurance provider, taking the Award for Excellence in Transformational Business.
The FT/IFC Transformational Business Awards, an expansion of the FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards, highlighted innovative, commercially viable, and replicable products and services that can create long-term, transformative solutions to development needs in areas such as infrastructure, energy, food and water, affordable housing and health. The awards also recognised the use of technology to empower the poor, initiatives to reverse environmental and social degradation, and efforts to promote gender diversity. The programme in its first year attracted 237 entries from 214 institutions in 61 countries.
The awards were presented at a special dinner in London attended by around 200 senior decision-makers in business, finance and development. Steve Rayner, James Martin Professor of Science and Civilization and Director of the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society at Oxford University, was keynote speaker at the dinner. The event followed a one-day Transformational Business Conference organised by the Financial Times and IFC.
The winners and special commendations are:
Achievement in Project Finance
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Infrastructure: Standard Chartered Bank, UK
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Energy: K-Electric, Pakistan
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Special Commendation: Abengoa, Spain/Industrial Development Corporation, South Africa
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Food & Water: Axzon, Poland
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Health: Colalife, UK/Johnson & Johnson, US
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Construction & Affordable Housing: Rapid Building Systems, Australia
Achievement in Information and Communications Technology
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Winner: Bima, Sweden
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Special Commendation: Roshan, Afghanistan
Achievement in Transformational Finance
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Winner: JP Morgan Chase, US/Lion’s Head Global Partners, UK
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Special Commendation: Toronto Atmospheric Fund, Canada
Achievement in Inclusive Business
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Winner: Engro Foods Limited, Pakistan
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Special Commendation: Jain Irrigation Systems, India
Excellence in Transformational Business
“The judges were delighted with the quality of the entries in this inaugural programme. Many of the initiatives highlighted on the short-list were fascinating in their level of innovation and the impact they could have if replicated widely. It was not easy to pick the winners and those that prevailed should be congratulated,” said Martin Dickson, US Managing Editor of the Financial Times and co-chair of the awards judging panel.
"The winners list shows us that businesses in developing countries are driving innovation and that the private sector is increasingly focused on projects that can have a long-term impact," said IFC Executive Vice President and CEO Jin-Yong Cai. "The awards give companies a global platform to showcase their work, expand into new markets, and demonstrate that the toughest issues in developing countries can be addressed in sustainable and profitable ways."
The judging panel consisted of:
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Martin Dickson, US Managing Editor, Financial Times (co-chair)
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Nena Stoiljkovic, Global Practices Vice President, World Bank Group, and Vice President, IFC Global Partnerships (co-chair)
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David Harris, Director, FTSE ESG
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Hadeel Ibrahim, Founding Executive Director, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
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Mary-Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO, Women’s World Banking
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Chris Locke, Founder, Caribou Digital, and Visiting Fellow, Center on Emerging and Pacific Economies, University of California, San Diego
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Henrik Skovby, Executive Chairman, Dalberg Group
PwC was technical advisor for the programme.
About the Financial Times:
The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 665,000 (Deloitte assured, Q1, 2014). Mobile is an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving 60 per cent of subscriber consumption, 45 per cent of total traffic and 20 per cent of new digital subscriptions. FT education products now serve 37 of the world’s top 50 business schools.
About IFC:
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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