SINGAPORE - Enterprise Asia announced the winners of the International Innovation Awards 2019 in Singapore. Thirty-five products, services and organizations are named as award winners from over 160 submissions.

"There are not conventional 'innovations'. When we set out to identify winners of the International Innovation Awards, our goal is to present a broad spectrum of innovations that could spur greater innovation in the recipients' respective countries and industries. Just as innovation itself is continuously self-redefining, the awards are meant to promote continuity in innovation", said Dato' William Ng, president of Enterprise Asia.

Among the notable recipients of the InnoCube are AIA Malaysia, Taiwan's HIWIN Technologies Corp., Singapore's Olam International Ltd., Philippines' Unilever, Indonesia's PT MRT Jakarta, and United Arab Emirates' Roads and Transport Authority and Vietnam's Tan Hoang Minh Group.

Organized annually by Enterprise Asia, the International Innovation Awards is among the most coveted global awards for innovation and aims to recognize best innovations in the categories of Product, Service & Solution, and Organization & Culture. This year's judging panel include Martin Daffner, founder of Innobrix, Professor Nadia Thalmann of Nanyang Technological University, Professor Natcha Thawesaengskulthai of Chulalongkorn University, Makoto Shibata of FINOLAB, The FinTech Center of Tokyo and Anna Simpson of Flux Compass.

"These are the trailblazers of our world. Beyond the obvious commercial value, these innovations are what would power the world forward, individually and collectively. I hope that more companies and organizations would realize that constant innovation is not a luxury, but necessity", says Ng.

About iGlobe Partners’ Innovating Investing

iGlobe was established in Dec 1999 by its founder, Mrs Koh Soo Boon, after a successful stint as a Corporate Venture capitalist and banker. The firm identifies start-ups and companies in early growth stages with emerging technologies and innovations that will become game changers in the marketplace. It sources start-ups from Silicon Valley and brings them through Singapore as a gateway to Asia. Hence, even in the early stage of development of these start-ups, iGlobe expanded their potential markets globally, thereby increasing the value of the start-ups with better revenue generation and market addressability.

As an example, iGlobe identified the potential of Unity Technologies at its early period in 2011 and led the Series B round amidst competition from 11 other larger US VCs at that time. It earned the respect of Sequoia Capital (Series A lead of Unity Technologies) and the Unity Technologies' founding team.

iGlobe's unique track record of having brought firms to Asia over the past years, gave it that credibility with Unity Technologies whom it brought to Singapore, as a gateway to Asia. iGlobe often co-invests with major US VC firms such as Arch Ventures, DCM Capital, Lux Capital, Qualcomm Ventures etc. who have found immense value in iGlobe's ability to identify and understand the potential value of the start-ups and develop them. With this strategy, iGlobe has demonstrated stellar returns for its fund investors. In a way, through its efforts, iGlobe has put Singapore on the global VC map by being plugged into the major investing networks. The funds have outperformed the global benchmarks for VC firms. iGlobe invests in Silicon Valley firms and brings them to Asia. Similarly, it brings Singapore firms to expand in the region as well, making Singapore the gateway for these firms.

Through its mission of 'democratising investment in deep technology' for the smaller individual investors, iGlobe has been able to maintain a loyal and growing cohort of high net worth investors and family offices. The demonstrated returns have ensured the growth in the subsequent fund sizes. iGlobe's philosophy of connecting investors to the start-ups as if they were major investors is a unique differentiation of the fund. iGlobe provides frequent updates about the performance of the investments and start-ups on quarterly basis.

iGlobe was able to identify unicorns in their infancy, leading the rounds in the iconic gaming company -- Unity Technologies, u-blox, ACSL, NerdWallet, Hippo and Matterport.

About Enterprise Asia

Enterprise Asia strives to create an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurship as an engine towards sustainable and progressive economic and social development reinforced by its strong pillars of: Democratizing Entrepreneurship, Institutionalizing Sustainability and Empowering Innovation.

About International Innovation Awards

The International Innovation Awards is an annual regional recognition program that recognizes outstanding innovations, and in the process, encouraging organizations to continue investing in innovations. For more information on the International Innovation Awards 2019, please visit www.innovationaward.org