Manila, Philippines (August 25, 2015) – PLDT SME Nation and Smart Enterprise, together with online news site Rappler are launching the first social media crowdsourcing search for the new generation of entrepreneurs, the Bozz Awards.
Recognizing a new breed of tech-savvy entrepreneurs
Aimed at celebrating a new breed of Filipino business owners, the Bozz Awards is set on recognizing entrepreneurs who are harnessing the advantages of digital tools and platforms for growing their businesses. These entrepreneurs are leading the revolutionary changes in the country’s digital economy with the help of technology for their business.
Through Rappler, the Bozz Awards nomination will be accessible in their main site to facilitate the crowd sourcing aspect of the campaign which will carry the online handle #BeTheBoss.
“For years now, PLDT SME Nation has been known for the annual MVP Bossing Awards which celebrates local business titans whose stories of success embody perseverance and continuous innovation. They are industry icons that start-up entrepreneurs look up to,” said PLDT First Vice President and Head of SME Business Kat Luna-Abelarde.
“This year, we are launching The Bozz Awards which is all about the new breed of entrepreneurs, who are just as persevering and innovative, albeit faced with a different set of challenges and opportunities of doing business in today’s digital age.”
To qualify for the Bozz Awards, business owners must not be more than 45 years old, are based in the Philippines, and have run their business at least two years.
Nominations are done online via the microsite on Rappler (www.rappler.com/betheboss).
Those who wish to nominate their own bozz can also do a ‘Tweet-pitch’ on Twitter with a 140-character nomination using the hashtag #BeTheBoss. More details will also be announced via the official Bozz Awards site.
A total of 15 nominees will be shortlisted by a panel of judges with three nominees falling under each of the five categories —The Boss for Mobile Readiness, The Boss For E-commerce, The Boss for Social Media, The Boss for Customer Service, and The Boss for Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship.
The public will then have a chance to cast their votes online, also through the Rappler site, and these votes, together with the results of the panel deliberation, will determine the final five Bozz Awardees (one from each category). The finalists will be honored in a grand celebration and post-awards culmination party to mark the end of the first ever run of the Bozz Awards.
As a fitting tribute to game-changing entrepreneurs who are leading the digital revolution in business, the winning Bozz awardees will also be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the world’s melting pot of technology via an exclusive Silicon Valley tour.
Abelarde added, “we’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again—there’s nowhere to go but digital. We’ve seen a lot of budding and progressive entrepreneurs who’ve managed to revolutionize the traditional ways of doing business through online presence or ground-breaking use of digital tools and platforms. This new breed of movers and shakers paved the way, and we want to recognize and empower them so they can inspire more entrepreneurs.”
Together with its partners, PLDT hopes to inspire more entrepreneurs with success stories of those who have boldly embraced the challenges and opportunities of the digital era.
The Bozz Awards is part of the line-up of activities for PLDT SME Nation’s recently launched Small Business Month celebration which is a pioneering initiative aimed at empowering small businesses to embrace the digital revolution.
For more information on how to #BeTheBoss, visit rappler.com/betheboss.
