WSA 07 Awards in Venice (11)

Category: e-Business

The category e-Business shows a a range of applications, mainly in the non-profit sector. The project National Financing helps SMEs by providing credit and cutting red tape. The Kiva project provides micro credit for global projects. The Merino Innovation Portal has been set up to promote merino wool. The i-kimono project is collecting kimonos to restore and sell and using the money for charity. Digitalcopyright.hk is unique project, covering the complete chain of digital rights.

Below the jury laudations:

Title: National Financing - Development Bank
Title in Original Language: Nacional Financiera - Banca de Desarrollo
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: http://www.nafin.com/
Producer: Nacional Financiera, S.N.C.
Country: Mexico
Description of the Product
NAFIN´s website has developed a strong set of resources to help small and medium businesses overcome the long term credit terms of the big enterprises by an online system for Factoring. It fosters the development of Mexican SMEs by providing otherwise scarce and expensive credit and reducing costs and eliminating red tape through online services. Credit worth over US $40 billion has been already provided. NAFIN uses the internet to bring factoring, financing, training, technical assistance and real time valuable business information to small and medium businesses (SMEs). Other services include: eLearning, an on line B2B SMEs marketplace and selling opportunities to the Government. Everything works transparent making this site a must for all businesses in Mexico.

Title: KIVA Micro Finance
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: http://www.kiva.org/
Producer: Kiva Microfunds
Country: United States of America
Description of the Product
Kiva.org is a non-profit web site revolutionizing the fight against global poverty by enabling socially-conscious internet users to connect with and make personal loans to low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world. An exceptional social software solution, Kiva acts as the world’s first person-to-person lending marketplace for the poor. Anyone can make a direct loan of as little as $25 to someone in a developing country. This affordable capital helps low income entrepreneurs start or expand their small businesses, creating a path towards economic self sufficiency. Specifically, Kiva.org has developed also a program that will accelerate the growth of microfinance institutions through the use of accounting software.

Title: digitalcopyright.hk
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: http://www.digitalcopyright.hk/
Producer: Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited
Country: China
Description of the Product
Aiming at preserving creativity and realizing the profitability of creativity in the digital economy, Copyright.hk is a one-stop trusted e-biz marketplace. It offers a centralized clearance solution to connect digital content owners and consumers. It assists owners in selling contents in a self-service mode and also flexibly setting business rules for their contents. Copyright.hk serves as a trusted source for consumers to buy copyrighted contents. In this way, contents are distributed in a controllable manner and thus unlawful replication and distribution of contents can be greatly deterred. This project is also a massive educational exercise concerning legitimate content downloads addressing especially students and youngsters intending to download and upload creative works.

Title: The Merino Innovation Portal
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: http://www.merinoinnovation.com/
Producer: Devotion
Country: Australia
Description of the Product
In response to fierce competition from lower-priced cotton and increasingly technical synthetic fabrics the Australian Wool Innovation uses a web portal to help sell more of Australia’s world-leading often undervalued merino wool. Merinoinnovation.com was created as the key element in a strategy to rejuvenate the fortunes of this iconic Australian product and the sheep farm industry of the country. The web site demonstrates the versatility of Merino wool in many engaging interactive formats. It takes users on a sensual journey from inspiration to implementation. It addresses different audiences from designers to consumers and has been successful in positively shifting perceptions and gaining a number of large international clients for Merino wool producers.

Title: i-kimono
Media Format: broadband/online
URL: http://www.i-kimono.com/
Producer: i-kimono
Country: Japan
Description of the Product
i-kimono’s creates an on-line market for used kimonos and spreads the culture of the kimono internationally. The site services are intended to serve commercial and cultural interests: kimonos stored by older generations with loving care can be passed to younger generations and brought to use in today’s culture and societies. The site features a Kimono Appraisal System in order to find out the fair price for an old garment thus creating a market for the precious antique kimono so that every one can enjoy freely kimonos for various uses. The unique i-kimono charity auction system supports Japanese non profit organisations by creating proceeds from internet auctions from members and supporters.

Blog Posting Number: 922

Tags: e-Business