BusinessDay set to name 25 most innovative companies of 2016

West Africa most authoritative business newspaper, BusinessDay newspaper, has concluded plans to recognise the top 25 innovative companies and institutions in 2016.

The award is set to identify and recognise players in both the private and public sectors that have had to dig deep into their innovative capacity to do extraordinary things in 2016, having pulled through declining demand, policy inconsistencies and uncertainty, acute scarcity of foreign exchange, and dwindling revenues.

BusinessDay will be celebrating the companies and institutions that have shown the most innovative products, ideas and service this year, in an elaborate award ceremony to be held in the first quarter of 2017. The awards is not restricted to product innovation only, but also recognises companies or institutions that have been able to introduce innovative processes that cut time or cost as well as innovative ideas that overcome identified social or business challenges.

The award categories include the most innovative company in Banking services, in terms of customer service delivery, product (offering), lending to manufacturing, and support to Agriculture, Manufacturing, Service delivery, Transportation; road and aviation, Agriculture; recognising innovation in crop production and value chain management. Innovation in delivery of housing will also be recognised, most innovative Charity or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), most innovative Tech start-up, and Most innovative SME.

Other categories include the most innovative state governor (policy and administration), most innovative federal ministry as well the most innovative regulator; in discharging its duties and fulfilling obligations to the public, and the most innovative telecommunications firm.

A full list of categories would soon be available on the BusinessDay website and nominations are invited from companies and institutions confident enough that they have introduced a very innovative product, service or idea which has helped them paddle through the economic turbulence in 2016. This is going to be annual award meant to encourage innovation in a difficult operating environment.