Above: Nekesha Bartholomew – Ramey, of Printree speaking at the bmobile Business Technology Awards ceremony. Photo courtesy TSTT

Printree Powered by the DocuCentre won the 2020 bmobile Business Technology Award on November 20.

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s annual Champions of Business Awards  took place virtually and via national television broadcast. bmobile is proud to be a sponsor-partner of the Business Technology Award category for the past three years, since inception.

The award recognises and celebrates  companies that are leveraging technology to drive and further develop their business. This year’s finalists were Excellent Stores, ShopHub.com and Printree Powered by DocuCentre with the latter being awarded the top prize at this year’s event.

Printree is an online design-to-print service launched in 2018. Customers can book printing services online, pay and have it delivered internationally or collected at designated collection points in Trinidad and Tobago. The service will now benefit from a bmobile Business Solutions package, valued at $10,000, that will be customised to provide the company with one year of technological and communication support.

Ian Galt, General Manager Enterprise Services at TSTT, presented the finalists and announced the winner at the virtual event. He noted that it was inspiring to see T&T born and built businesses harnessing technology to innovate, advance their operations and their industries, and ultimately propel the country forward.

Expanding on the similarities among the finalists, he stated, “Not only do all three operate within the e-commerce space but they are disruptive, innovative and prioritise collaboration. They understand that while technology is critical to their success, people are the core. They all do impactful, path-breaking work that is worthy of recognition.” Galt also emphasised TSTT’s commitment to supporting the business community as it rebounds from the pandemic and continues its work to establish T&T as a  force to be reckoned with globally.

Nekesha Bartholomew-Ramey, Business Development Manager, Printree Powered by the DocuCentre, on accepting the award, said, “Given the strength of the field this year, we are humbled and proud and count ourselves lucky to win.”

“Every time we look at this award, we will be reminded of how much this moment means to us given the long hours we put into making this a success. However, it is not only about who wins, but rather it also tells us about the state of our industry overall and how our companies are moving to leverage technology to compete at global scale.”

“Ultimately we look forward to making full use of this package from bmobile to allow us to innovate even further.”

She extended her gratitude to the Chamber of Commerce, bmobile and also to her team from production to marketing. Previous winners of this Technology Award have gone on to scale even faster in the past two years. WiPay (fintech) and Term Finance Holdings Ltd (web-based credit/loans) both expanded into other Caribbean markets which bodes well for TT and for the region.

Reyaz Ahamad, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, explained the importance of collaboration to businesses today.

“Navigating the pandemic meant every business had to put aside yesterday’s underlying assumptions and convictions and actively rethink the way value can be, and should be, added,” Ahamad said.

“One common thread that emerged from listening to the stories of the awardees is collaboration. No one can do it alone and the pandemic highlights the importance of collaborating in solving rapidly changing, complex problems. It is a powerful tool that can help as we navigate shared challenges and enable us to compete on the global stage.