2011 Webpreneur Academy Awards
"Give me enough medals, and I will win any war."
Napoleon Bonaparte, military genius.
Napoleon believed that it wasn't money that incentivated men to fight harder in battles, but simply the honor of winning a medal.
Medals and honors have been used througout human society to help improve standards in various industries. Athletes train harder when they know they have the chance of winning a gold medal. Ranking of MBA schools ensures that MBA schools keep working hard to please their evaluators as better rankings lead to better students for them.
In the same regard, the Webpreneur Academy Awards are our way to acknowledge, thank and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs, innovators and thinkers to keep doing what they are doing and help the world progress that one more step.
For nominees and winners of the awards, this leads to more press and more exposure gives them that little boost to keep going and doing the amazing things they are already doing. We will do all we can to give exposure to these leaders in the new economy as they experiment, innovate and try out business models and show their creativity to the world. Being an innovator or an entrepreneur isn't easy - if it was, everyone would be doing it. Taking a few hours out, once a year to acklowledge these innovators and entrepreneurs that help progress our human society is our way of saying "thank you".
How winners were Selected
The winner for each category is selected by the students and faculty of Webpreneur Academy. We take into account how often an organisation is nominated and the impact it is already having or will have on society. These awards are meant to give international exposure to people that often do not get the international exposure they deserve.
As one of the
Categories and Nominees
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Webpreneur of the Year
This category is for a Webpreneur that took action and created their business. All of the following attended a webpreneur course and now have a business creating either their main income or part-time income. All of the following are no longer employed and making a living for themselves. You do not have to make millions to win Webpreneur of the Year, simply have an inspirational business that you have taken off the ground. This is THE main award to win for the year.
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Newton Waithaka, Kenya
IsaacObjectsOfDecor.com
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Moving from Dubai to his home country of Kenya, Newton was looking for opportunities to start his own business. Joining the Webpreneur course, he tried out many things before realizing his niche in the world was in selling interior decor to the world. He is now selling to all across the region including Tanzania through the web and is overwhelmed by the success of his online store.
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Webpreneur of the Year Nominees:
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Aamnah Akram, Pakistan
HostMarkaz.com
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A college student that started freelancing on ODesk and was hired to help create the first version of Webpreneur Academy. Realizing that wealth isn't truly created by selling her time, she started seeing how Webpreneur Academy students struggled to put up their websites. She came up with the idea for HostMarkaz, making it easier for people to setup websites connecting Google Apps, Domain name registration, WordPress installation and a whole lot more all in one place.
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Newton Waithaka, Kenya
IsaacObjectsOfDecor.com
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Moving from Dubai to his home country of Kenya, Newton was looking for opportunities to start his own business. Joining the Webpreneur course, he tried out many things before realizing his niche in the world was in selling interior decor to the world. He is now selling to all across the region including Tanzania through the web and is overwhelmed by the success of his online store.
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Roz Martin, Ireland/UAE
TheCollagenCompany.com
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Determined to help people look younger, Roz found a passion for Collagen which provides natural benefits without the need for botox or other type of injections. Not having much capital to invest, she invested in TheCollagenCompany.com and within a few months of attending the Webpreneur Weekend, she had quit her job at Johnson & Johnson to become a fulltime webpreneur. Currently flying to places such as Singapore, Dubai and Ireland to sell her products across the globe.
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Soraya Chiah, Brazil/Lebanese/UAE
GuiaEmDubai.com
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Working as an administrator in a bank, Soraya attended the Webpreneur Weekend in August 2010. She learned to find her niche in the world by serving Brazilians visiting Dubai, as being an Brazilian/Lebanese made her unique. A year after attending she is now working for herself full-time making triple the income she was as an administration employee.
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eCommerce Service of the Year
We need to encourage the world of ecommerce and the following services make it easier to do business online especially in the Middle East and Africa region.
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Aramex Cash On Delivery
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Many people around the UAE do not want to use their credit card online. Aramex's Cash On Delivery makes it easy to collect cash from anywhere in the UAE. An aramex driver will come to your home, collect the goods, deliver them to the customer, take the cash from the customer, and then deliver you the cash. Making it an easier way to do business!
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CashU.com
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Many teenagers or people do not want a credit card. CashU enables people to get a card at places like UAEExchange and then use that card at sites such as Facebook and Google Adwords.
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| Shop and Ship |
Ever wanted to buy items that were only shippable to the United States? For instance, electronics items from Amazon or items from eBay. Shop and Ship gives you an address to ship to in the United States and United Kingdom. Once your item is received, Shop and Ship, forwards the packages to your home in the Middle East. You no longer have to be left without your favorite items!
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ShopMarkaz
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An online website that makes it easy for entrepreneurs to create their own online store. Websites such as ZaourFlowers.com and WebpreneurAcademy.com are powered by ShopMarkaz's easy to use platform to help entrepreneurs create their online store.
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Teacher of the Year
In the knowledge economy, more and more people will invest in their own training. The following are nominated for "Teacher of the Year" providing great service to their students (outside academia).
| Carol Talbot |
Working alongside trainers such as Jack Canfield, Carol Talbot, is a lady that has taught many of the leading entrepreneurs in the Middle East and around the world. A lady who takes her profession and teaching very seriously and helping and inspiring entrepreneurs from her base in Dubai.
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Best Payment Service Provider
In the knowledge economy, more and more people will invest in their own training. The following are nominated for "Teacher of the Year" providing great service to their students (outside academia).
| PayPal |
A US based company that is slowly opening up across the world to make the world of payments easier for customers.
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2CheckOut
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With 2CheckOut you can start collecting credit card payments from all but 6 countries in the world. Collecting credit card payments need not be a pain for merchants any more! |
| CashU |
For people in the Middle East that do not have a credit card, CashU makes it easy to send and receive payments through integrating offline retail stores such as UAE Exchange so that people can still buy online without their own credit card. |
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Amarmex Cash On Delivery
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Many people around the UAE do not want to use their credit card online. Aramex's Cash On Delivery makes it easy to collect cash from anywhere in the UAE. An aramex driver will come to your home, collect the goods, deliver them to the customer, take the cash from the customer, and then deliver you the cash. Making it an easier way to do business!
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Blue-Ex Cash On Delivery
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A cash on delivery service for an emerging country of Pakistan enabling people to do Cash On Delivery for upto $1,000 starting at $5 per transaction. |
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M-Pesa
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Kenya setting the standard in collecting payments through the phone. |
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Deal Site of the Year
The internet enables consumers to save while giving opportunities for brands to get exposure for their clients.
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Cobone.com
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Offering amazing deals across the Middle East.
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Fashion Site of the Year
| Sukar.com |
A leader in the middle east in terms of fashion at an affordable price.
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Best eCommerce Site of the Year
The internet enables consumers to save while giving opportunities for brands to get exposure for their clients.
| Nahel.com |
Excellent customer service from the leading electronics site in the region.
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Best Small Business Advisor
We can often get lost as entrepreneurs in our own chains of thought. Having an external party look into your business can help you take it to the next level!
| SME-Rebuilders |
Having an external consultant help startups with their business plan to learning helping them increase sales and build a better business. SME-Rebuilders has helped many of their clients take their ideas to a viable and profitable business. |
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Best Radio Station Promoting Entrepreneurship
Radio is a great way to reach a mass audiance. This category is for radio stations and shows that help small business and entrepreneurs get expsoure to their audiance. As every entrepreneur will tell you, getting exposure helps their business and this radio station helps entrepreneurs reach a bigger market.
| Dubai Eye 103.8 |
Entrepreneurship competitions such as the Falcon's Layer and The Big Break bring a competitive element to the world of entrepreneurship and give entrepreneurs exposure to the local market. The winner of the Big Break goes away with AED 250,000 worth of free advertsing and a chance to setup their company for free. |
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Best Entrepreneurship Content & Community
| Wamda |
Started with a bang of Celebration of Entrepreneurship. Amazing content and community website promoting entreprenership throughout the region.
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Club Promoting Education
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Cash Flow Club
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A club with over 14,000 members in 42 cities around the world teaching people the world of finance and entrepreneurship.
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Network Marketing Business of the Year
Network Marketing businesses give people a chance to earn a secondary income while learning about the world of sales and marketing at the same time.
| MVT Spark |
MVT Spark has a video based product and the team is constantly coaching and training their members to be the best sellers around.
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Best Comprehensive Social Media Strategy for a Bank
| ADIB |
Leading the way that social media should be used in the banking industry. One video created for UAE national day went viral through blackberry (a huge platform for nationals!).
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Best Podcast
Listening is the new reading! Podcasts enable listeners around the world to get access conversations and ideas.
| http://nightline.podomatic.com |
James Piecowye is the chief Conversationalist at one of the regions best produced show discussing education and technology. |
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Best Business Startup Faciliator
| Khalifa Fund |
Khalifa Fund gives Emirati entrepreneurs support through training, capital and exposure to grow regional entrepreneurs.
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Non Profit Of The Year
Non profits also have a huge impact on society and you can nominate the organisation you think is having the biggest impact.
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Web TV Show of the Year
Web TV is becoming more and more important as more people get access to the web across the world. .
| TurboChargeYourBrand.tv |
A channel to help you build and promote your personal or business brand.
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Promoting Social Entrepreneurship
| Acumen.com |
Acumen fund uses Patient capital to invest in companies having an impact in the emerging world.
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Promoting Local Entrepreneurship
| Khalifa Fund |
Khalifa Fund gives Emirati entrepreneurs support through training, capital and exposure to grow regional entrepreneurs.
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