The Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2024 celebrated a momentous 15-year anniversary during its launch, which was held at Level 2, Menara Star on June 5.

It introduced its SOBA Ambassadors for the first time, a carefully appointed array of past winners who until today continue to chart their success by upscaling their businesses while finding ways to push the sustainability agenda.

With this year’s theme of Breaking Horizons, the SOBA 2024 launch was attended by sponsors Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd (CGC); PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd (PKT Logistics); and RHB Bank Bhd (RHB Bank); together with official trade promotion partner Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade), as well as the award’s strategic and working partners.

Opening the event, Star Media Group (SMG) chief executive officer Chan Seng Fatt, in this speech, acknowledged that local enterprises play a vital role in the economy.

“They are adaptive to changes, are consistently innovative and constantly breaking through barriers to achieve success.

“The theme this year, Breaking Horizons, is more than just a theme – it is a call to action. It encapsulates our commitment to helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grow and elevate their businesses by breaking through traditional boundaries and exploring new opportunities.

“We aim to showcase the remarkable achievement and potential of our local enterprises in an ever-evolving economic landscape.”

Sponsor CGC president and CEO Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak said, “The most important thing is that they must know what the market needs, what their clients need because if you produce something that is not needed by the market, then you’ve got nothing to sell.”

He added that it is also important for SMEs to embark on digital transformation if they have not done so.

“They need to use the data, as well as artificial intelligence, to get the answers to the questions on how they can capture the market,” he stressed.

PKT Logistics group chief revenue officer Kuan Eu Jin said, “SMEs now have to cope with even larger problems: we have inflation, an impending rise in diesel or fuel costs and the external environment, as there are now environmental, social and governance or ESG factors to be considered in their businesses.”

Besides these changes, Kuan also pointed out that the business environment is evolving at a fast pace and SMEs have to cope with that as well.

RHB Bank SME Banking head Yip How Nang said, “This is a favourable time for SMEs to invest in their own transformation.

“The abundance of data and the wider accessibility of technology has made this more realistic and affordable than ever before.

“The pressure to build a more resilient supply chain gives domestic SMEs a very rare opportunity to grow, during which they can update their operation and operating strategies, they must not miss this unique opportunity.”

Also at the launch were SMG chief business officer Lydia Wang and chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng.

As part of the 15-year celebration, the awards has formed the SOBA Council, bringing together the SOBA Elite Judges and SOBA Ambassadors in a round table discussion later in the year.

SOBA Elite comprise of Branding Association of Malaysia president Datin Winnie Loo, Malaysia Entrepreneurs’ Development Association president Datuk Teh Tai Yong, Malaysia Retail Chain Association vice-president Datuk Vincent Choo and Matrade strategic planning division senior director Raja Badrulnizam Raja Kamalzaman.

SOBA Ambassadors are past SOBA winners who are passionate in helping other small and medium-sized enterprises excel in their business.

These include Maxvue Vision Sdn Bhd founder and CEO Viji Ramasamy Pillai, who won the SOBA 2016 Malaysian Business of the Year title; Secret Recipe Sdn Bhd managing director Patrick Sim, who clinched the Malaysian Business of the Year title in 2022.

Also included are Peoplelogy Development Sdn Bhd founder Allen Lee, who was last year’s Elite Entrepreneur of the Year winner and Complete Human Network Sdn Bhd founder and CEO Teh Chai Ping, who won last year’s Par Excellence Achievement and Female Entrepreneur of the Year awards.Similar to last year, SOBA 2024 has 11 Top of the Class awards that recognise business achievements in relevant categories.

It also has six Outstanding Achievement award categories that cover the Rising Star; Entrepreneur of the Year award to Male, Female and Young; the Elite Entrepreneur of the Year and the ultimate Malaysian Business of the Year awards.

All these are separated into two tiers, below RM25mil and RM25mil and above.

The difference is the SOBA Mikro Recognition Award, which was introduced last year, is open for public submission.

Last year this award was only available through the sponsors’ nomination. This award recognises local micro brands or businesses with an annual turnover of less than RM300,000 with the top five selected as winners.SOBA 2024 is organised by SMG with CGC, PKT Logistics and RHB Bank as the main sponsors, with Matrade being the official trade promotion partner.

It is audited by BDO while radio stations 988 and Suria are official media partners.

For more information, call SMG Events (017-231 1789) or go to www.soba.com.my.