The Financial Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, have announced the shortlist for the inaugural FT/IFC Transformational Business Awards.

The FT/IFC Transformational Business Awards expand the FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards, which established themselves over eight years as the leading global awards for environmentally and socially responsible banking and investment. The new programme highlights innovative, commercially viable, and replicable products and services that can create long-term, transformative solutions to development needs in areas such as infrastructure, energy, food and water, affordable housing and health. It also recognises the use of technology to empower the poor, initiatives to reverse environmental and social degradation, and efforts to promote gender diversity.

The response to the Transformational Business Awards has been very positive, with 237 entries received from 214 institutions in 61 countries.

The shortlisted nominees are as follows:

Achievement in Project Finance – Infrastructure

Eco Management Korea, South Korea
Standard Chartered Bank, UK
TSKB (Industrial Development Bank of Turkey)

Achievement in Project Finance – Energy

Abengoa/Industrial Development Corporation, Spain/South Africa
Banco Itaú, Brazil
CLP Wind Farms/CLP India Private, India
FNB Capital, Nigeria
K-Electric, Pakistan

Achievement in Project Finance – Food & Water

Axzon, Poland
United Water Corporation/United Water (Suqian), UK/China
YES Bank, India

Achievement in Project Finance – Health

Colalife/Johnson & Johnson, UK/US
Operation ASHA, India
Sida (with USAID, Norway, DfID, CIFF, CHAI, and The Gates Foundation), Sweden/Norway/UK/US

Achievement in Project Finance – Construction & Affordable Housing

CEMEX – Patrimonio Hoy, Mexico
Rapid Building Systems, Australia
Select Financial Services Malawi

Achievement in Information and Communications Technology

Bima, Sweden
MicroClinic Technologies/Angelica Medical Supplies/KEMSA, Kenya
PharmaSecure, US
Roshan, Afghanistan
Santander Brasil, Brazil

Achievement in Transformational Finance

Alipay, China
Aviva Investors, UK
Bank of America Merrill Lynch/Citigroup/Credit Agricole/JPMorgan Chase, US/UK/France
BlueOrchard Finance, Switzerland
Frontier Markets Fund Managers, Pakistan
JPMorgan Chase/Lion’s Head Global Partners, US/UK
Toronto Atmospheric Fund, Canada

Achievement in Inclusive Business

Agroindustrias Unidas de Mexico/ECOM Agroindustrial, Mexico/Switzerland
Engro Foods Limited, Pakistan
Fundacion Cardiovascular de Colombia
Jain Irrigation Systems, India
Procafecol – Juan Valdez Café, Colombia
Promigas, Colombia
Shanghai F-Road Commercial Services, China

“We are delighted with the response to our new awards programme and the high quality of the entries,” said Martin Dickson, FT US Managing Editor and Co-Chair of the awards judging panel. “The shortlist includes a wide range of initiatives that address some very important challenges in developing economies. The judges are looking forward to a detailed examination of these submissions over the next few weeks.”

“The short list shows the potential of the private sector to transform markets and be part of the solution to complex issues that block paths out of poverty or push people back into poverty,” said Nena Stoiljkovic, Global Practices Vice President, World Bank Group, and Vice President IFC Advisory Services, who is also a co-chair of the awards’ judging committee. “Sustainability also continues to give companies a competitive edge and in an increasing number of sectors.”

The winners in each category will be announced at a dinner at the InterContinental Park Lane in London on 12 June 2014.

The awards judging panel consists of:

  • Martin Dickson, US Managing Editor, Financial Times (co-chair)
  • Nena Stoiljkovic, Vice President, Business Advisory Services, IFC (co-chair)
  • David Harris, Director, FTSE ESG
  • Hadeel Ibrahim, Founding Executive Director, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
  • Mary-Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO, Women’s World Banking
  • Chris Locke, Founder, Caribou Digital, and Visiting Fellow, Center on Emerging and Pacific Economies, University of California, San Diego
  • Henrik Skovby, Executive Chairman, Dalberg Group

PwC is technical advisor to the programme.

The awards dinner will conclude the inaugural FT/IFC Transformational Business Conference, a one-day summit that will gather policy-makers, business leaders and strategists from around the world to discuss new ways of tackling key challenges facing emerging economies and societies. Confirmed speakers for the conference include:

  • Jin Yong Cai, Executive Vice President and CEO, IFC
  • Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise, London
  • Martin McPhee, Senior Vice President, Cisco Consulting Services
  • Wim Thomas, Chief Energy Advisor, Shell
  • Nick Hughes, Founder, M-PESA, and Founder and Chairman, M-KOPA
  • Mai Oldgard, Vice President, Head of Sustainability, Telenor Group
  • Pedro Miranda, Corporate Vice President and Head of Global Center of Competence Cities, Siemens

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For further information, please contact:

Kristina Eriksson, Financial Times
London
T: +44 (0) 20 7873 4961
E: Kristina.Eriksson@ft.com

Julie Ziegler, IFC
Washington DC
T: +1 (202) 473 0128
E: JZiegler1@ifc.org

About the Financial Times:

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 665,000 (Deloitte assured, Q1, 2014). Mobile is an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving 60 per cent of subscriber consumption, 45 per cent of total traffic and 20 per cent of new digital subscriptions. FT education products now serve 37 of the world’s top 50 business schools.

About IFC:

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

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