The six winners of the first-ever Malta International Business Awards (MIBA) were announced last week. The awards were organised to honour the achievements of Malta-based companies seeking to do international business by selling their products and services abroad.

Representing the best of Maltese exports to the world, the winners of the six categories of MIBA are:

Small Business: 365 Squared, award presented by Big Exhibits
Medium-Sized Business: Altaro Software, award presented by BPC International Ltd
Large Business: Toly Group, award presented by TradeMalta
Emerging Markets: Medserv, award presented by HSBC Bank Malta
Innovation Exporter: Ascent Software, award, Presented by Grant Thornton
High Potential Exporter: Thynk Software, award presented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion

A seventh award, representing the overall winner of the MIBA was also announced during the evening. Toly Group won this award which was presented by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion Carmelo Abela.

The event was endorsed by the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion. TradeMalta organised the events together with its strategic partner HSBC Bank Malta. Other sponsors included Grant Thornton, Big Exhibits, and BPC International Ltd.

The awards ceremony was held during a gala dinner on held at The Radisson Blu Resort, St. Julian’s.

For the inaugural edition, TradeMalta received a total of 38 applications containing more than 900 supporting documents. The finalists have been identified following a rigorous scoring process which was published with the Entrant Guide and each participant was asked to submit documentation pertaining to a host of parameters, including international turnover, profitability, internationalisation efforts, competitive advantage, and innovation and internationalisation capacity. The audit firm Grant Thornton assisted in the scoring of the submitted applications.