In a landscape where the global adolescent mental health crisis looms, Stevie-winner ElevateRA stands as an educational venture seeking preventative measures.

Founded by Ramita Anand, a trained teacher with a Science and Special Educational Needs specialization, ElevateRA is designed to educate and support pre-adolescent girls on crucial life skills.

Passionate about helping girls’ well-being, ElevateRA originated to work in conjunction with the conventional approaches in education to equip young people with the skills of confidence, empathy, resilience, emotional intelligence, and kindness that will serve them throughout their lives. Ramita works with families and their daughters, but also with schools to implement the lesson plans designed to promote these skills.

ElevateRA's program, comprising eight mentoring sessions, is crafted to address diverse issues, ranging from social anxieties to concerns about school performance. Rather than imposing solutions, the program equips girls with tools and resources to develop their unique strategies for navigating these complex challenges.

Cultivating "5 Superpowers" for Resilience
ElevateRA places a significant emphasis on fostering resilience and well-being by cultivating those life skills that they frame as the "5 Superpowers": Confidence, Resilience, Empathy, Emotional Intelligence, and Kindness. These attributes are not just buzzwords, but integral elements woven into the fabric of the program.

Girls enrolled in ElevateRA are not only taught about these superpowers but are actively encouraged to embody and apply them in their lives. The program goes beyond theoretical concepts, employing engaging activities, Supergirl motifs, and vibrant imagery to make the learning experience both enjoyable and impactful. By celebrating each girl's unique differences, ElevateRA strives to build a sense of self-belief that extends beyond the program, influencing their overall personal growth.

ElevateRA's commitment to empowering girls extends beyond theoretical frameworks. The program equips girls with practical tools and strategies to confront and overcome adversity. The keepsake workbooks are designed as more than mere instructional materials, they serve as personal journals for recording emotions and platforms for immersive role-playing exercises. These tools aren't just about providing solutions but encouraging a proactive approach to problem-solving.

By incorporating real-life case studies of young women who have triumphed over adversity, ElevateRA instills a sense of hope and possibility, reinforcing the idea that challenges can be surmounted with the right mindset.

Leaving a Global Impact
Despite the challenges of starting a business during the COVID-19 pandemic, ElevateRA exemplifies resilience. Adapting to school closures, the team altered lesson and workshop plans, transitioning to online delivery creatively.

The Elevate Podcast, hosted by Ramita, was launched to engage a new audience, featuring conversations with thought leaders on empowering girls during adolescence. The podcast, now in its seventh season, enjoys a global reach and a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts.

In addition, in February of 2022, Ramita authored Girl Elevated: 5 Steps to Empower Girls in Early Adolescence to Be Their Best, a book now used in schools and conferences internationally, educating parents and teachers on empowering girls as they navigate adolescence.

Testimonials and feedback from parents and teachers highlight the care and passion invested by Ramita in her work with each pupil. Over the last two years, Ramita has collaborated with school groups and individual students across various countries, implementing her learning framework in classrooms and individual sessions, aiding girls in overcoming adversity and fostering a positive mindset.

ElevateRA won a Gold Stevie Award for Most Innovative Startup of the Year - Consumer Service Industries in the 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards.

Interested in entering the 2024 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards? 

Stevie-winner SET Maritime and Electrical offers a simple solution to electric safety hazards within the marine industry with their new product, ESHORE.

ESHORE’s patented electrical design was created to ensure the safety of boat owners, meet regulatory standards, and save customers time and money on incorrect electrical connections.

Current State of Maritime Safety
Over the past six years, SET Maritime & Electrical has been involved in verifying electrical compliance for plan approvals and surveys of Domestic Commercial Vessels. During this time, a range of different shore connection installations have been inspected and checked against the required Standards.

SET Maritime & Electrical found that most vessels did not meet the required safety standards. The most pressing safety factor found in these vessels was Reverse Polarity, which presents a serious risk of electrocution.

Currently, all other shore connection products available on the market are based upon a Polarity Monitoring Device that detects reverse polarity with a simple circuit as the fundamental design. A certificate from an electrical contractor ensures that a boat's wiring is correct.

But when a boat connects to shore power, the polarity (direction of electricity flow) can be uncertain due to various factors like installation or maintenance issues. If the power's polarity is reversed, it can make the safety systems on the boat useless and put people on board in danger.

ESHORE’s Patented Design
To solve this problem, SET Maritime & Electrical owner Mark Smith designed a groundbreaking new “Plug and Play” shore connection device called ESHORE. His device meets the requirements of the Australian Standard for electrical installation safety for single-phase and three-phase systems, has a reverse polarity switch and momentary Polarity test with an interlocking device, and can be used anywhere in the world with minor modifications.

In the development phase, the device was refined based on suggestions received from government and regulatory bodies, industry representatives, target markets, and peers, all of whom gave encouraging feedback on the necessity of the device in the marine industry. 

Since 2021, SET Maritime & Electrical has seen their hard work in pursuit of safety come to fruition as they reached the manufacturing phase and created a device that is robust and fit for purpose. The device was first installed in the Domestic Commercial Market, where it received positive feedback from all owners for its ease of installation and use.

In 2022, they officially launched ESHORE and are already on their third generation of the device that offers more flexibility for installation, remote operation capability, and can be easily concealed, making it more aesthetically pleasing. 

SET Maritime & Electrical won a Gold Stevie Award for Innovation in Consumer Products & Services and a Bronze Stevie Award for Achievement in Product Innovation in the 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards.

Interested in entering the 2024 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards?

The 10th annual Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards ceremony took place virtually on 27 June. The ceremony was live-streamed to over 250 Stevie Award winners and their guests. 

The ceremony replay is available on the Stevie Awards YouTube channel.  

High-achieving organizations and professionals from organizations in 19 nations and territories in the APAC region were named Stevie Award winners this year, and 34 winning organizations participated in the virtual festivities.

How the Awards Were Presented

Each organization was announced once during the virtual presentations. A short video about the winning organization produced by the Stevie Awards was played, followed by a pre-recorded acceptance speech video supplied by the winning organization. The virtual ceremony was live-streamed via YouTube Live at 2:00 pm KST.

Within the virtual event platform, attendees had the ability to interact in the live chat, learn about and engage with sponsors, take photos, and submit interviews on the virtual red carpet.

"Since 2020, the Stevie Awards have staged virtual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards ceremonies, though we hope to return to the region with a live awards ceremony in 2024. In the past, we've staged the event in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo," commented Stevie Awards Founder, Michael Gallagher, during the live chat. 

The following organizations participated in the virtual ceremony. Only winning organizations that registered for the virtual ceremony were recognized.

Individual Virtual Acceptance speeches and red-carpet interviews are available on the Stevie Awards Youtube channel. View and download photos from the virtual red carpet album below:

 

Winner Highlights

Stevie-winner Scaffad of Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia, was the first organization that was honored during the ceremony. Scaffad won a Gold Stevie Award for Innovation in Human Resources Management, Planning & Practice, among all other industries. Scaffad is Australia's leading early works construction and development signage pacemakers. Scaffad partners with top Australian and global companies to bring their branded spaces and places to life. Accepting the award virtually were Scaffad Directors Lachlan Bell and David Montgomery, along with Finance Manager Rachel Bohr.

"It's an award that means a lot to us as a company, as it's something we believe strongly in...that we're making positive steps towards bringing the best out of our staff and how we all interact with each other and how we motivate each other," Lachlan said during his virtual acceptance speech.

A multiple Stevie Award winner and People's Choice winner that was honored during the virtual awards was M360, Inc., of Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines. M360 won two Bronze Stevie Awards for Most Innovative Startup of the Year in both Business Product Industries and Services categories, and a third Bronze Stevie Award for Innovation in Business-to-Business Services. M360 also won two People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies in both the Startup Business Products and Tech Startup Services categories. M360's powerful mobile technology is recognized for being cost-effective, quick, and proven to deliver results so that businesses of all sizes can use SMS marketing quickly, easily, and at low cost. 

Other multiple Stevie Award winners that were recognized during the awards included Cisco Systems India Pvt Ltd, of Bangalore, India; HP of Australia and New Zealand; Metro Pacific Water of Makati City, Metro Manila, Philipines; and PT Pupuk Indonesia of Jakarta Barat, Indonesia.

One of the more creative virtual acceptance speeches came from Fuji Television Network Inc. of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, the nation's largest television network. Fuji Television Network won a Silver Stevie Award for Innovation in Entertainment Events for the Tokyo Idol Festival 2022. With his Stevie Award in hand and surrounded by balloons, the Executive Producer of the Tokyo Idol Festival acknowledged his team and the award. View his acceptance speech and others on the Stevie Awards YouTube channel, linked below.

 

About the 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards

The 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 19 nations and territories, including Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.

More than 800 nominations about innovative achievements in the 29-nation APAC region were considered by the judges this year in categories such as Award for Excellence in Innovation in Products & Services, Award for Innovative Management, and Award for Innovation in Corporate Websites, among many others.

The Official Creative Media Partner of this year's awards is Adobo Magazine, and the Official News Release Distribution Partner is PR Newswire, a Cision company. 

HIVE by Income (HIVE), an Insurance-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform by one of Singapore’s leading composite insurers, Income Insurance, enables insurers and digital platforms to launch innovative embedded insurance propositions with speed and agility. 

With pre-built InsurTech integrations and seamless customer journeys, HIVE brings innovative product offerings to new segments of digital-first customer segments across the region, empowering greater financial well-being for all.

Recently, HIVE collaborated with Vietnam's leading housekeeping service, JupViec.vn, and third largest non-life insurer, Post and Telecommunication Joint Stock Corporation (PTI), to launch a pay-as-you-earn microinsurance product that addresses the needs of vulnerable gig economy workers - domestic helpers.

Empowering Lives Through Stackable Microinsurance: Protecting The Underserved, One Policy At A Time
JupViec.vn is a mobile app that connects domestic workers with customers for on-demand housekeeping services. Known as the “Uber for maids,” its objective is to provide regular jobs and skills upgrading necessary for these women to earn a higher income and improve their lives and social status.

HIVE launched “JupViec Care” with the gig platform and PTI to provide a pay-as-you-earn personal accident microinsurance product that is embedded into every successful job completed. Designed to be simple and flexible even for tech illiterates, premiums are adjustable starting from as low as S$0.12. These domestic helpers can stay protected against death and disability, with a sum assured of up to SGD6K.

“Helpers are at high risk of getting injured while working such as climbing as they are cleaning. In the event of injuries, treatments would mean a financial loss which could take away their humble income. JupViec Care cleverly fits as a perfect solution, by allowing the helpers to purchase insurance with an amazingly small, affordable amount and making coverage stackable, giving them extra confidence and protection as they carry out their shifts.” —Mr. Phan Minh, Founder & CEO of JupViec.vn

The availability of this innovative microinsurance model allows informal gig economy workers access to relevant financial services, putting them on a path toward greater financial security and social mobility. HIVE's approach to financial inclusion prioritizes customer-centric partnerships and allows for flexibility and customization to address the specific needs of different communities.

HIVE InsurTech offerings, which are compatible with any insurance core system and adaptable to multiple customer channels, allow new embedded insurance propositions to be launched in as short as 3 months. HIVE integrated with PTI and JupViec wallet within 3 months to serve the needs of the domestic helper segment.

Together with like-minded partners, HIVE aspires to transform the insurance industry and create a fairer and more sustainable economy, embedding insurance into our lifestyle activities, one activity at a time.

HIVE By Income won a Gold Stevie Award for Innovation in Business-to-Business Services in the 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. 

View the full list of 2023 winners.

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world's premier business awards programs, announced the winners of five Grand Stevie Award trophies, plus nine winners of a People’s Choice public vote, in its 10th annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the only awards to recognize innovation in the workplace throughout the entire 29-nation Asia-Pacific region. All organizations in the region are eligible to submit nominations to the competition.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners in the various categories were announced on 6 April. Those awards were determined by the average scores of more than 150 executives worldwide acting as judges. Winners will be celebrated during a virtual awards ceremony on Tuesday, 27 June at 2:00 pm KST. Tickets for the event are now on sale.

The 2023 Grand Stevie® Award for Most Honored Organization of the Year goes to Cisco Systems, Bangalore, India with 28.5 award points.  This award could not be applied for directly. The award is determined by a points system based on the total number of awards won in the competition, with a Gold Stevie win counting for 3 points, a Silver Stevie for 2 points, and a Bronze Stevie counting for 1.5.

Grand Stevie Awards are also presented to the highest-scoring nomination from each of the four nations that submitted the most nominations to the competition. Three of the four highest-rated nominations in the competition are in the Innovation in Thought Leadership awards categories.

• Australia: Street Science, of Brisbane, Queensland, for their “Creating Future Innovators” nomination, a Gold Stevie Award winner for Innovation in Thought Leadership, with an average score of 8.78/10.
  
  
• China: Wharf China Estates Limited, Hong Kong, winner of a Gold Stevie for their nomination “CQIFS -The Gate” for Innovation in Consumer Events (8.56/10).
  
  
• India: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, New Delhi, for their nomination “Parivartan - Prison to pride by IndianOil,” a Silver Stevie winner for Innovation in Thought Leadership, average score 8.70.
  
  
• Philippines: The nomination of Kelvin Lester K. Lee, SEC Commissioner, by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines, which won a Gold Stevie for Thought Leader of the Year with an average score of 8.83/10.

More than 9,300 votes were cast over the past three weeks in the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies, a long-time feature of Stevie Awards programs but a first-time public vote as part of the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. Each People’s Choice winner received at least 100 votes; the minimum number required to be eligible to win:

• Business Products & Services: VA Platinum, Bright, Victoria, Australia
• Startup – Business Products: m360, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
• Startup – Business Services: Aedium Design Pvt Ltd, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
• Consumer Products & Services: Empire East Land Holdings, Inc., Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
• Health Care Industries: TCI Co., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan
• Non-Profit Organizations and NGOs: ANUDIP Foundation for Social Welfare, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
• Social Impact Companies: Newport World Resorts, Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines
• Technology Industries: HP India Sales Private Limited, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
• Tech Startup – Services: m360, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines

These honorees will receive crystal People’s Choice Stevie Award trophies.

The 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 19 markets including Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China including Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam. More than 800 nominations about innovative achievements in the 29-nation APAC region were considered by the judges this year in categories such as Award for Excellence in Innovation in Products & Services, Award for Innovative Management, and Award for Innovation in Corporate Websites, among many others. 

"Organizations have had to become more creative than ever to serve their customers and stay ahead of the curve since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Thought Leadership achievements shown in the Grand Stevie-winning nominations are exceptional and are paving a new standard for business in the Asia-Pacific region, " said Maggie Miller, President of the Stevie Awards. "We commend all of this year's Grand and People's Choice Stevie Award winners for their achievements, and we look forward to celebrating them on 27 June."

Details about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards and the 27 June awards ceremony, and the list of Stevie Award winners, are available at http://Asia.Stevieawards.com.

Winners have been announced in the tenth annual Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, the only awards program to recognize innovation in business throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region. 

 

The Stevie® Awards are widely considered to be the world's premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in the workplace over the past 21 years in programs such as The International Business Awards® and The American Business Awards®. The name Stevie is derived from the Greek word for “crowned.”

 

The 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards have recognized organizations in 19 nations and territories including Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam. More than 800 nominations about innovative achievements in the 29-nation APAC region were considered by the judges this year in categories such as Award for Excellence in Innovation in Products & Services, Award for Innovative Management, and Award for Innovation in Corporate Websites, among many others.

 

Among the top overall winners in the 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are HP. Inc, with 13 Stevie Awards in total from their offices in Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam. Cisco Systems India [Pvt] Ltd of Bangalore, India won 11 Stevie Awards in total in categories including Award for the Innovative Use of Technology in Customer Service - Telecommunications Industries and Award for Innovation in Customer Service Management, Planning & Practice - Computer Industries. IBM worldwide won 10 Stevie Awards in categories including Innovative Achievement in Customer Satisfaction and Achievement in Product Innovation.

Winners of two or more Gold Stevie Awards include A.S. Watson Group (Hong Kong), Ambiq (United States), Bandai Namco Holdings China (China), Beijing Indigo Property Services Company Limited (United Kingdom), Brillio Technologies Pvt Ltd (India), Cisco Systems India [Pvt] Ltd (India), City of Sydney (Australia), Comm&Sense, Inc. (Philippines), FPT Software (Vietnam), Hectre (New Zealand), HP (Worldwide), KAYLEY MOON - HONEY DIGITAL (Australia), KT (Korea), Megaworld Corporation (Philippines), Metro Pacific Health Tech (mWell) (Philippines), Metro Pacific Water (Philippines), Ngong Ping 360 Limited (Hong Kong), Nuance Communications (Australia), PT Bank Permata, Tbk (Indonesia), PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) (Indonesia), SOOHYUN Inc. (Korea), SSS Strawberries (Australia), Street Science (Australia), Tata Consultancy Services (Hong Kong), and Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Asia Pacific (Australia).

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 150 executives around the world acting as judges in February and March.

For the first time, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards features an edition of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies, a worldwide public vote for all nominees in the competition’s Company/Organization categories. Voting will be ongoing through April 28, 2023. Winners in these categories will receive a crystal People’s Choice Award.

“The submissions in the tenth edition of the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards were outstanding,” said Stevie Awards President, Maggie Miller. “The judges remarked that the innovation and perseverance demonstrated in the nominations were inspiring. We applaud all the Stevie Award winners this year and look forward to celebrating them on 27 June.”

For details about the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the 27 June awards ceremony, and the list of Stevie Award winners, visit http://Asia.Stevieawards.com.

We are pleased to welcome a new representative to the Stevie® Awards team: Cindy Chou, Co-Founder and President of OneShot Taiwan.

OneShot is an innovative "Communication-to-Commerce" agency specializing in strategic brand campaigns. They adjust their communication strategy with real-time feedback, using digital means to lay out thousands of communication nodes, assist in the optimization of the systematic effect carousel, and find the best contact point to achieve sales.

Cindy started her career in TV media in Taiwan and Hong Kong, gaining important experience and network connections as a professional reporter and eventually as a department chief.

Prior to founding OneShot Taiwan, Cindy had launched ICL Taiwan, which then merged with world-leading, French communication group MSLGROUP of Publicis Group. Following the merge, Cindy served as the Chair of MSLGROUP Taiwan. 

Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller said:

“We are thrilled to have Cindy join the Stevie Awards team to help reach outstanding organizations in the Asia-Pacific region. With her experience and extensive network, we know she will spread the message on what winning a Stevie Award can do for brand recognition, employee happiness, and company growth. We look forward to working together on international Stevie Award competitions."

Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 nominations each year from organizations in more than 70 nations, honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them. Stevie Awards representatives work across the globe to discover and help innovative companies and leaders enter the global arena and elevate their brand recognition.

We are now accepting entries for The 20th Annual International Business Awards®, the world's premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 60 nations and territories each year. All individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, large and small—may submit nominations. The early-bird entry deadline, with reduced entry fees, is 12 April. The final entry deadline is 10 May. Winners will be announced on 11 August and celebrated at a gala banquet in Rome, Italy this October.

Sign up for the Stevie Awards Update Newsletter to get updates on awards competition openings, deadlines, winner listings, and ceremony event details.

The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world's premier business awards programs, announced that they have revised the schedule for the 2023 (10th annual) Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

By popular demand, the final entry deadline has been extended to March 17. The judging process will extend through March 26. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced on April 5. Winners will be celebrated during a virtual awards ceremony on June 27, instead of the traditional awards banquet that had been planned for May 27.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is the only business awards program to recognize innovation throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region. The competition is open to all organizations across 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific region: large and small, for-profit and non-profit, public and private.

The awards focus on recognizing innovation in all its forms, wherever it is achieved in the workplace. Entries will be accepted in English in the following awards category groups:

• Achievement
• Company/Organization Awards
• Corporate Communications & Public Relations Awards
• Customer Service Awards
• Human Resources Awards
• Management Awards
• Marketing Awards
• New Product & Product Management Awards
• Publications Awards
• Social Media Awards
• Technology Awards
• Video Awards
• Website Awards and App Awards
  …and more

A new category group for 2023 recognizes Thought Leadership innovation in strategy, development, and execution since the beginning of July 2020.

In addition to a number of new categories, a public voting component has been added. All organizations that are honored with Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award trophies in the Company/Organization categories will automatically be included in People's Choice voting. People's Choice winners will receive a special People's Choice Stevie Award trophy allowing for honorees in the Company/Organization categories to have the opportunity to receive a second award, as voted by the general public worldwide. Voting for the People's Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Companies will open on April 5 and go through April 28.

Scores of professionals from throughout the region will participate in the judging process to determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie winners.

Some of the Asia-Pacific region’s most innovative organizations have won Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards in the past five years including ABS-CBN Corporation, Cisco Systems, DHL Asia Pacific Shared Services, EventsAIR, Freelancer.com, Fuji Television Network, Inc., Google, Globe Telecom, Hana Financial Group, Hong Kong Tourism Board, HP Inc., IBM, KB Kookmin Card, KT, Megaworld Corporation, MSL China, Nasdaq, Ooredoo, PT Petrokimia Gresik, Seegene Medical Foundation, Shell Philippines Exploration B.V., Shanghai Disney Resort, Singtel, SM Supermalls, Tata Consultancy Services, Telkom Indonesia, VNPT Vinaphone Corporation, Viettel, and more.

The name Stevie is taken from the name Stephen, which is derived from the Greek for "crowned".

- Sponsors and partners of the 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards include adobo magazine and PR Newswire Asia.

Stevie-winner CIS Bayad Center, Inc. (Bayad) is the largest multichannel payment platform in the Philippines. Formerly known as Bayad Center, Bayad takes pride in having the largest billing network, serving more than 500 billers, including basic utilities, government contributions, loan payments, tuition fees, online shopping, insurance, and many others. To date, 80% of banks and financial institutions in the country are likewise powered by Bayad for their bill payment acceptance.

With more than 20 years in the industry, Bayad continues to be a trailblazer as it evolves from an over-the-counter payment center into a full-service fintech company, offering a whole suite of financial products & services available to both consumers and businesses.

Bayad won the Bronze Stevie Award in the Innovation in Rebranding category, where it articulated its brand transformation in an essay entry titled "Meralco's Bayad Center to Bayad: How a traditional bills payment brand authority in the Philippines adapted to the digital age."

Transforming the Digital Financial Experience

With technology continuing to develop in leaps and bounds, and with COVID-19 pandemic still in the equation, businesses big and small were pushed to undergo digital transformation to automate their services for their customers.

Through the use of real-time electronic payments and user-friendly mobile applications, transactions like bills payment, money remittances, and online shopping can now be done in the comfort of one’s home – something that Bayad makes possible. With the main goal of connecting, empowering, and providing customers with seamless relevant, and secured financial services, Bayad has aligned its initiatives with the goal of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in achieving 50% increase in digital financial transactions in 2023.

In line with this, the company has rebranded itself as a "Bigger, Better, and Younger Bayad" to introduce more payment channels and services, and to capture a significant chunk of the younger and internet-savvy market.

Anchored on its “Pay Anywhere” stance, Bayad has clinched and maintained partnerships with various billers, utility companies, government institutions, and remittance companies, enabling a network of establishments, agents, online and mobile applications, financial institutions, cooperatives, and fintech companies.

To date, 80% of the banks and financial institutions in the country are likewise powered by Bayad for their bills payment acceptance. More importantly, their extensive connections have resulted in successful partnerships with multinational financial services corporations such as VISA and Mastercard, empowering more customers to pay online.

Bayad has also opened opportunities to entrepreneurs to generate additional income for their existing businesses through its franchise model, enabling the company to receive various recognitions for its service excellence.

Scaling Innovation for the Future

According to Bayad, constant innovation is the linchpin in their development as a fintech institution. They continue to launch new and supportive services and solutions for customers.   

• Bayad has launched Bayad Asenso, a retail trade app that aims to provide opportunities for MSMEs to generate additional income for their existing businesses. This solution can be embedded within the business feature of the Bayad App, where business owners can register and manage their accounts, enabling them to become Bayad Agents, offering Bayad’s financial services in their respective communities.
• Apart from Bayad Asenso, Bayad also introduced the Bayad Checkout, a payment check-out solution that is integrated in an enterprise’s website or mobile app, allowing its customers to choose their preferred payment method.
• Lastly, Bayad has also successfully launched Bayad Express, a one stop shop payment solution that is also embedded in a merchant’s website or mobile app, which enables customers to access other billers of Bayad, apart from the merchant’s primary payment offerings.

As Bayad continues to create positive strides by maintaining dominance in payments, it advances its cyber security measures, enabling the company to obtain its Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Certification (PCIDSS), an information security standard for all business entities that handle card information.

With its ongoing efforts in security compliance, Bayad also utilizes fraud detection tools making them confident in expanding its user base as it continues to develop value-added services and additional revenue streams to community establishments and online businesses.

Bayad won a Bronze Stevie Award for Innovation in Brand Renovation / Rebranding in the 2022 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

Interested in entering the 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards?

We invite business professionals, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, and more from
around the world to apply to judge in the following 2023 Stevie® Awards programs: Middle East & North Africa Stevie® Awards, Asia-Pacific Stevie® Awards, German Stevie® Awards.

Being selected or nominated to become a jury committee member is an honorable and
distinctive position. It not only reflects one’s expertise in a certain profession, but also reflects that this person has high ethical standards and is well-recognized and trusted within their business community. Qualified applicants will be placed on judging committees for Marketing, Entrepreneurship, New Products, Technology, Thought Leadership, and much more.

Each year, more than 1,000 professionals participate in Stevie Awards judging. The average scores from judges determine the winners in each Stevie Awards category. As this is a critical component of the Stevie Awards competitions, we take great care to maintain the integrity of the judging process. The judging team ensures that jury members are experts and professionals in their industry and conducts regular monitoring and auditing of the entire process. The judging team is available to guide new judges, and hosts meetings to explain proper judging protocols.

Benefits for Stevie Awards Judges
As a judge, you will learn how other organizations and individuals are achieving success and confronting challenges. Below are the exclusive benefits of being a judge at the Stevie Awards:

• Recognition - During the judging process, jury members are recognized on the Stevie
  Awards website, Stevie Awards blog, and receive a hardcopy and PDF judge certificate suitable for framing.
  
• Profile - Qualifying as a judge is an honor and a privilege. The mention of serving in this role can be added to your professional profile.
  
• Self-Development & Awareness - Judges learn about strategies, tactics, and best practices of others in the industry as their review entries, giving them a unique opportunity to spot new market trends as they happen.
• Award Ceremony - All jury members are welcome to attend the award ceremony, which takes place at the end of each competition. Enjoy a spectacular night socializing and networking with award winners and other judges.
• Invitations to Judge Future Competitions

Before You Apply to Judge
Judging positions are open for the following Stevie Awards competitions. Those interested in serving as a judge should follow the below links for more information on each respective competition:

• The Middle-East & North Africa Stevie Awards
• The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards
• The German Stevie Awards

Prospective judges should make sure their LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and that it reflects your most current experience and demonstrates a competitive edge.

Judging  Criteria
Individual criteria differ by category, but the emphasis is on the overall quality of the entry: the merits of the claims to innovation, integrity, effectiveness, creativity, growth, etc. claimed in the entry, relative to the judges' experience and their knowledge of the participant's industry, as well as the quality of the entry's content itself.

Judges tend to value well-written entries that: (1) are heavy in facts, figures, and concrete outcomes; (2) come close to the word-limit for their categories (i.e. that aren't perceived as being too short); and (3) are supported by attachments, such as a links to a corporate website, press clippings, work samples, etc.

We recommend that prospective judges request an entry kit to the competition for which you want to judge, so that you can familiarize yourself with the criteria and submission requirements.

Gold Stevie-winning nominations are linked on the Stevie Awards website. This is a good tool for prospective judges to learn what a top-rated Stevie nomination looks like.

Judging Process
All entries are first reviewed by Stevie Awards staff to ensure that eligibility requirements are met, that entries are formatted properly in order to go forward to be judged, and that entries have been submitted in appropriate categories.

All judges receive written instructions about how to score entries. Judges are asked to score the achievements portrayed in each entry based on: (a) their own experience; and (b) their understanding of how organizations and individuals in the nominee's industry performed in the eligibility timeframe, given the condition of the economy in general and the nominee's industry in particular. 

For entries in creative media categories, judges are asked to read the brief submitted about the entry’s communications objectives, and to review and score the submitted media (web site, video, live event, etc.) based on their originality, creativity, production values, and how well they believe the media meet the stated communications objectives.

All judging is done online, within a two-to-three-month window. Judging for the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, and the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is open now.