The Financial Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced the winners of the 2015 FT/IFC Transformational Business Awards.
This year’s programme marked a decade of collaboration between FT and IFC on global awards initiatives that have highlighted ground-breaking, commercially viable solutions to today’s development challenges. For 2015, special attention was given to initiatives that address pressing structural needs in rapidly growing urban areas. A total of 191 entries were received from 167 organisations involving projects in 140 countries.
The awards were presented at a special dinner in London attended by around 200 senior decision-makers in business, finance and development. The event followed a one-day Transformational Business Conference organised by the Financial Times and IFC.
MicroEnsure, a global provider of microinsurance services, received a special award for Excellence in Transformational Business, reflecting its achievements over the first 10 years of the FT/IFC programme. MicroEnsure is the world’s first and largest organisation whose exclusive focus is to address the mass market need for micro-insurance.
The winners and highly commended are:
Achievement in Urban Transformation
- Winner: Sanergy, Kenya
- Highly Commended: Heksagon Kati Atik Yönetimi Sanayi ve Ticatet, Turkey
Excellence in City Transformation
- Winner: People’s Committee of Da Nang City, Vietnam
- Highly Commended: Agra Nagar Nigam / Agra Municipal Council, India
Achievement in Information and Communications Technology
- Winner: Operation ASHA, India
Achievement in Transformational Finance
- Winner: International Finance Facility for Immunisation, United Kingdom
- Special Commendation: Highly Commended: Citi, United States
Achievement in Inclusive Business
- Winner: UnionPay, China
- Highly Commended: Cummins Cogeneration (Kenya) Limited
Special Award: Excellence in Transformational Business
- Winner: MicroEnsure, United Kingdom
“The initiatives nominated for this year’s awards included a number of projects that have the potential for large-scale adoption across the developing world. The judges were delighted with the level of innovation and the focus on commercial viability, and the overall progress we have seen in sustainability solutions since our awards were launched 10 years ago,” said John Thornhill, Deputy Editor of the Financial Times and co-chair of the awards judging panel.
“After ten years, the creativity, innovation and transformational potential of our entrants’ projects continue to impress me,” said Nena Stoiljkovic, Global Practices Vice President, World Bank Group, and Vice President, IFC Global Partnerships. “There are so many dedicated individuals and companies looking for solutions to our development challenges that five awards are not enough. But I hope they serve as examples to motivate others to apply their knowledge and expertise to promoting sustainable and equitable economic development. I congratulate not only our winners, but all those who participated and urge them to continue their ground-breaking work.”
The judging panel consisted of:
- John Thornhill (co-chair)
- Nena Stoiljkovic (co-chair)
- David Harris, director, FTSE ESG
- Hadeel Ibrahim, Founding Executive Director, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
- Mary-Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO, Women’s World Banking
- Chris Locke, Founder, Caribou Digital
- Steve Rayner, James Martin Professor of Science and Civilization, and Director, Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, Oxford University
- Henrik Skovby, Executive Chairman, Dalberg Group
PwC was technical advisor for the programme, and Cities Alliance was knowledge partner.
The award for Achievement in Urban Transformation was supported by Omidyar Network.
For more details on the FT/IFC Transformational Business Conference and Awards, please visit live.ft.com/transformationalbusiness, where you will also find photographs of both events.
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For further information, please contact:
Kristina Eriksson, FT: Kristina.Eriksson@ft.com
Oliver Griffith, IFC: ogriffith@ifc.org
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 720,000 (Deloitte assured, Q4 2014). Mobile is an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving almost 50 per cent of total traffic. FT education products now serve two thirds of the world’s top 50 business schools. For news about the FT follow @FTPressOffice.
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 about 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. In FY14, we provided more than $22 billion in financing to improve lives in developing countries and tackle the most urgent challenges of development. For more information, visit www.ifc.org