Bill & Melinda Gates take top leadership prize at inaugural Online Startup & Innovation Awards
Australia’s leaders in innovation, YBF Ventures, announce the winners of the 2020 Online Startup & Innovation Awards.
CEOs from California to Paris virtually joined the City of Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Sally Capp; Victoria’s Innovation Minister, the Hon. Jaala Pulford; the US Consul-General, Michael Kleine and YBF Ventures’ CEO, Farley Blackman to usher in the winners of the inaugural Online Startup and Innovation Awards.
Produced in Australia, the Online Startup and Innovation Awards were open to the world, to all of those innovating during the global health and economic crisis.
COVID-19 has challenged the entire world and the awards celebrated the startups, scaleups and leaders that stepped up to new obstacles by innovating, collaborating and demonstrating outstanding leadership.
Spotlighting ingenuity
From agritech to artificial intelligence, machine learning, biotech, cybersecurity, fintech, legaltech, proptech and more, the Online Startup & Innovation Awards were designed to shine a spotlight on ingenuity.
Following a public voting process, the winners include individuals and companies that have taken direct actions to combat the virus, pivoted their product or service to address the crisis, or are paving the road to recovery through their leadership.
The official awards ceremony was live streamed on YouTube on16 September 2020 and hosted by Jason Lim, the Chief of Staff of YBF Ventures and the presenter of the five-star-rated People Building Businesses podcast.
The Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne, Sally Capp officially opened the awards with an Acknowledgement of Country and said, “We are here tonight to celebrate and to acknowledge the amazing startups, scaleups and global leaders who are innovating, challenging, collaborating and making a positive impact in the face of adversity.”
Coming together in a crisis
The Lord Mayor was followed by YBF Ventures’ CEO, Farley Blackman who said, “As a British American living in Australia who has previously lived in Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, London and throughout the US, I know how small the world is and how important it is to come together and celebrate all of the good happening around us, especially during times of crisis.”
Category submissions hailed from across the globe, including from South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, India, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Russia, Turkey, the USA, Serbia, Italy, New Zealand and Australia, and based on the sheer volume of applications and nominations, YBF Ventures had to create two additional categories to encompass impressive projects in the edutech and wearables space.
We’re pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Online Startup and Innovation Awards:
Best Global Leader During a Crisis: Bill and Melinda Gates
Winner announced by the U.S. Consul-General, Michael Kleine
Best COVID-19 Social Impact: Clipboard
Winner announced by the CEO of Prosperity Advisers, Allan McKeown
Best Launch, IPO or Capital Raise During a Crisis: Aircart
Winner announced by the CEO of Tyro, Robbie Cooke
Best Australian Collaboration During a Crisis: Alkira Software & the State Library of Queensland for Anzac Stories
Winner announced by the Executive Director of the Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre at the University of Melbourne, Professor Colin McLeod
Best International Collaboration During a Crisis: Digitology Healthtech by Health and Patient Services and Medachievers
Winner announced by the Chief Program Officer of YBF Ventures, Kate Eriksson
Best AgriTech or FoodTech Project, Product or Pivot: AgUnity
Winner announced by the CEO of Lucid Software, Karl Sun
Best Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning Project, Product or Pivot: BEAD
Winner announced by the CMO of YBF Ventures, Courtney Blackman
Best BioTech or MedTech Project, Project or Pivot: DetectED-X
Winner announced by the Deputy Medical Information Officer at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Dr. Kudzai Kanhutu
Best Cybersecurity Project, Product or Pivot: Cyber Aware
Winner announced by the founder and CEO of Aiculus, Dr. Omaru Maruatona
Best FinTech Project, Product or Pivot: Birchal
Winner announced by the CEO of FinTech Australia, Rebecca Schot-Guppy
Best LegalTech Project, Product or Pivot: Immediation
Winner announced by the Chief Executive Partner of Lander & Rogers, Genevieve Collins
Best PropTech Project, Product or Pivot: Conexie
Winner announced by the CEO of OVHcloud, Michel Paulin
Best EduTech Project, Product or Pivot: TalkiPlay by TalkiWear
Winner announced by the Minister for Employment; Innovation, Medical Research & Digital Economy and Small Business, the Hon. Jaala Pulford
Best COVID-19 Wearables: Aō Air
Winner announced by the CEO of Wrike, Andrew Filev
Watch the full, 30-minute ceremony below:
Sponsors of the Online Startup & Innovation Awards include Lander & Rogers, City of Melbourne, the Victoria State Government’s Digital Innovation Futures 2020, the UK Department for International Trade, Prosperity Advisers, Melbourne Connect, The University of Melbourne, Lucidchart, Wrike, OVHcloud, the University of Tasmania and Tyro.
Thank you to our community partners: AirTree, FinTech Australia, Girls in Tech Australia, Innovation Bay, Spark Festival, StartupGrind, Startup.Network, Startmate, Blockchain Australia, University of Sydney Genesis, Cicada Innovations, Winitha Bonney, Western Sydney University Launch Pad, Silicon Beach and Tanggram.
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