“The contribution of the Energy and Water Agency as a lead partner was important in raising awareness on the importance of, among others, water conservation, waste management and reduction, and sustainable development,” HSBC says in the press statement.

Greening The Islands is an innovative organisation supporting the self-sufficiency and sustainability of islands worldwide, and focussing on enabling cooperation between local authorities, businesses, citizens and academia.

As part of HSBC’s Global Water Programme, the bank has invested close to €1m in water and other sustainability initiatives in the island nation, such as Catch the Drop, Water Explorer, and the Malta CSR Institute – Together for Sustainability.

HSBC Malta also supports the Malta CSR Institute that has recently launched the Business Against Food Waste, helping restaurants to better manage food supplies; and Invest+, a series of financial literacy workshops organised with the Malta Business Bureau.

The post HSBC Malta bags Public Awareness award first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The eight awards organisers are expecting applications for are as follows:

• Award for Best Tech Startup,
• Award for Creative Innovation,
• Award for Scientific Innovation,
• Award for Technological  Innovation,
• Award for Top Investor,
• Award for Digital Disruptor,
• Award for the Best Service Provider,
• Award for Tech for a Better World.  

For the first time, the awards have the scope to give exposure and credit to all the “hard-working companies and individuals in the tech sphere” in Malta, according to the press release. 

“The awards will shed a spotlight on the ongoing tech activity in Malta, the innovative projects, and the solutions created which will give back to the community but most of all the awards will boost the creative thinking and tech talent which is part and parcel of the growth of the digital economy of our islands,” said parliamentary secretary Silvio Schembri. 

A judging panel will decide on the awardees, while in the case of the Best Tech Startup, a specific judging panel will be set up to rank all applications and determine the three finalists and award winner. The three finalists will be invited to the MCA eBusiness Awards Event.  

Nominations can be placed through the official website of the summit by noon on 18 September.

The post Applications open for eight awards at DELTA Summit first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The final winners of the Proof of Concept category were: Pregnancy Risk Chip — to develop an easier, earlier way of detecting pregnancy complications — and iFoot — to assess foot pressure and temperature, adapting to different scenarios of walking and taking active participation in offloading areas of high peak plantar pressure during walking.

The winners of the Seed Fund category were: SmartAgriFarmsR&D — to focus on the research and development of hydroponic farming in Malta, specialising in the formulation of hydroponic solutions —, Phileae — targeting the perfume niche brand market, allowing customers to personalise their scent —, and iSmart – focussing on creating solutions to improve reading comprehension, especially for those with learning difficulties (dyslexia, ADHD and other auditory or visual problems).

The teams will be working closely with the TAKEOFF Business Incubator and the University’s Knowledge Transfer Office over the next year in a bid to bring their ventures closer to commercialisation.

“Education can contribute to society’s well being and prosperity if teaching and research prepare us to intervene effectively in the real world and help us solve problems and improve reality through knowledge, skills and a moral commitment to change society for the better,” Minister for Education and Employment, Evarist Bartolo said when presenting the grants today.

“During the last six years, TOSFA supported 45 beneficiaries in developing further their ideas while helped others to commercialise them. Over this period, a total of €600,000 of funds were disbursed, helping and supporting very good ideas to flourish and grow and at the same time collaborating with already established companies. The ideas are diverse and come from numerous sectors ranging from Health, Energy, Technology, Artisans,” said Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses, Nancy Caruana, at the University of Malta TAKEOFF Business Incubator today.

“The University of Malta is keen to continue supporting funds such as the TAKEOFF Seed Fund as it is an aid for entrepreneurship and research commercialisation. Every year the considerable number of applications received shows the interest from both entrepreneurs as well as researchers at the University of Malta,” Prof Saviour Zammit said.

Prof Saviour Zammit, Pro-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer, presided over the Award Ceremony, which was also attended by, Prof Russell Smith, Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation, and Anton Bartolo, Director of the Knowledge Transfer Office.

The post TAKEOFF awards grants to five projects first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Created to recognise top talent in the online gambling industry, awards are given in 20 categories, ranging from “Tech Idol of the Year” to “Fraud and Risk Idol of the Year”, among others. BLM’s “Employer of the Year” is one of these awards, being distributed for the third time since its launch in 2017, during the second edition of the iGaming Idol Awards.

Companies will be judged based on a “rigorous independent scientific study” created and curated by Business Leaders Malta. BLM says the study focuses on gauging employee satisfaction and engagement, which are benchmarked “across various domains”. The winner is selected based on the findings of the study.

“It brings me great satisfaction to see all of these companies invest in initiatives which, more than anything, benefit the wellbeing of their people,” said Morgan Parnis, CEO of Business Leaders Malta. “As always, we are thrilled to be a part of this hugely successful and innovative event. It is truly an honour and pleasure to have been entrusted by iGaming Idol to deliver the ‘Employer of the Year’ award for the third consecutive time since its inception, and to be working with such an amazing and professional team,” Mr Parnis added.

“We are excited to work with BLM for the third consecutive year on the ‘Employer of the Year’ award of iGaming Idol,” said Pierre Lindh, Managing Director of Ambassadör Events Ltd that organises the iGaming Idol. “For such a prestigious award, it was important for us to create a process of high integrity to live up to the prestigiousness of the award. BLM turned out to be the perfect partner to execute this process with us, creating a fair employee survey which not only highlights which company has the happiest employees, but also brings value to the participating companies by offering important data on the wellbeing of each company’s employees,” Mr Lindh added.

The post BLM to award best employer at iGaming Idol show first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“It was a hundred years ago, on the 25 July 1919, that Herbert Plumer, then Governor of Malta, brought into force the Architects’ Ordinance, which governed the profession of Land Surveyor and Architect and paved the way for the establishment of the profession of Architect and Civil Engineer (perit) as we know it today,” the press statement issued by the Kamra tal-Periti says.

On this occasion, the Kamra presented the following awards to their respective winners:

The Premju Galizia was accompanied by the opening of a public exhibition of some of the best projects realised over the past year. Projects that range from the national scale, such as the two urban regeneration finalist projects, to more “intimate” interior design projects, the press statement says.

The exhibition will run until 2 August 2019 at the Ġnien il-Biskuttin (Argotti Gardens) adjacent to the Christ the King monument in Floriana.

The gallery accompanied by further information related to the awarded projects can be seen on the official website of the Kamra tal-Periti.

The Maltese architects’ association says it is committed to assisting the government in every which way to ensure that Maltese urban environment makes a marked shift towards ever-higher quality and standards, according to the press release sent to BM.

EDITORIAL NOTE: The construction sector has been through challenging times recently. The Kamra called for an extraordinary general meeting, after the walls of three building collapsed near excavation works. Prior to the EGM the Kamra published its preliminary position, and after the EGM the Kamra pledged commitment to improving the public safety of citizens and urged the government to enter discussions with the association. The Kamra also welcomed the recent listing of licensed masons published on the website of the Building Regulation Office (BRO). The Kamra sent a letter to the minister, asking to clarify a number of points. At the same time, the Kamra also asked for a meeting prior to the publication of the legal notice.

The post Kamra Tal-Periti celebrates the Premju Galizia winners first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The sum was presented in the form of awards of €6,000 each. Three of the awards were sponsored by ENISIE, a project which was created to enable innovation through services and institutional engagement between Sicily and Malta. The fourth award was presented by the Valletta Design Cluster and the Malta Innovation Hub.

“Profit with Purpose showed just how many great social innovation ideas are out there. It was so encouraging to see dozens of entrepreneurs coming forward with viable commercial projects that also tackle a societal issue,” said Joseph Sammut, Chairman of the Malta Life Sciences Park.

“The final pitch for the awards was very impressive and the independent judging panel found it so hard to choose the winners that, in fact, and an extra award was added to the three originally planned,” Mr Sammut added.

Through the awards, the winners will benefit from €6,000 each in support services including hot desk access and business development consultancy expertise.

Profit with Purpose was organised together with the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector and also Impact HUB Siracusa and Tree. The four organisations are part of ENISIE, which is supported by the European Union’s Program INTERREG V-A Italia-Malta, which provides funds for intra-regional projects.

The post Profit with Purpose generates €24,000 for supporting startups first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Both events took place on 4 February in London, coinciding with the beginning of B2B gaming event ICE London, following each other with a few-hour difference.

“It’s an honour to accept two awards related to our casino product and mobile offering in one evening. These distinguished titles really reflect the hard work and effort that everyone put in during the last year,” said Gustaf Hagman, Group CEO at LeoVegas, following the two events.

LeoVegas believes the “Online Casino of the Year” award comes as a recognition for efforts invested in strengthening the brand portfolio of the group, as well as commending efforts toward implementing responsible gaming strategies. The company adds that the “Mobile Operator of the Year” award aims to celebrate the continual updates to the LeoVegas mobile website and app, in addition to other improvements.

The Global Gaming Awards celebrates the achievements and the innovations of companies from all areas within the iGaming industry, while the International Gaming Awards is another prestigious event that highlights and rewards companies from all tiers of the industry based on a multitude of different categories.

The post LeoVegas bags accolades in London prior to ICE first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.