| UN
Millennium Plaza, New York City, 24 September 2008
ZMQ Software Systems, India received the prestigious UNDP's World Business
and Development Awards 2008 at a glittering ceremony at the Millennium UN
Plaza Hotel in New York on September 24, 2008 - on the eve of UN's High-level
Event on the MDGs convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and
the President of the General Assembly. |
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| ZMQ was
honored during the Awards ceremony under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania
Al Abdullah of Jordan and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal. Other dignitaries
present in the ceremony were Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator; Douglas Alexander,
UK Secretary of State for International Development; and Guy Sebban, ICC Secretary
General. ZMQ was recognized for its commitment
to combat HIV/AIDS, and other global problems like global warming, illiteracy
and poverty using sustainable ICT tools and solutions. Nine other companies from
different parts of the world were recognized for their work in improving lives
of the world's most disadvantaged people. ZMQ
has raised awareness about HIV/AIDS across India and Africa using mobile technology.
Under the banner "Freedom HIV/AIDS", on December 1 2005, ZMQ released
four mobile phone games to help combat the spread of the virus and fight stigma
and discrimination. In the span of 15 months, the four games reached 42 million
people in India, with a download of 10.3 million game sessions. ZMQ was able to
replicate its model in Africa under the Africa Reach Program in the countries
of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique and Botswana. |
| "The
new socio-business model of ZMQ is a blend of its core competency with social
development, which is a step beyond corporate social responsibility,"
said Subhi Quraishi, Chief Executive of ZMQ.
"In the fight against poverty and disease, businesses should move from being
responsible corporate citizens to being agents of transformation." |
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan |
"Today, business leaders like all
of you are rewriting the value equation to show that true worth comes not only
from profits but from making a positive difference," said Queen Rania
in her address to the awardees. "More and more, when we look at some
of the cruelest challenges our human family faces, we find it is business leading
the charge of innovation for human development - inventing new tools, initiating
new partnerships, re-imagining service delivery - to bring life-saving vaccines
and life-altering technologies into the hands of the poor."
"Government is certainly responsible for piloting the great ships that
our nations are, and heads of state certainly need to navigate them well,"
added President Wade. "But government is not the whole ship.
The health of the vessel depends on the determination, will, creativity and productivity
of the passengers it carries. This I see as the greatest role of business. Participate,
build, lead, grow and be the wind in the sails or the bio fuel in our national
engine." | 
President
Abdoulaye Wade of
Senegal |
|
"As the world becomes more interdependent, doing
business with the poor has shown not only to be a potential boost to a company's
competiveness, but also -with the right business model- to be a force in the fight
against poverty," said Kemal Dervis, Administrator of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP). "We are presenting a new approach to
develop long-term business initiatives to harness the resources and talents that
are the central strength of global business. This is a potent demonstration of
our collective commitment to being a strong partner to the private sector in furthering
shared aims." |
The World
Business and Development Awards 2008 (WBDA) is one of the central events this
year that recognizes the key contributions of the private sector to development.
The biennial Awards are the first worldwide business awards to recognize the crucial
role of the private sector, large and small, in implementing the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) through their core business. The spirit of the awards lies in the
pursuit of innovative and productive core business practices to sustainable development
and to help make the societies where they operate better places to live and work.
This year's winners improved lives of millions of poor people across Africa, Asia
and Latin America.
The eminent international panel of
judges headed by Rajat Gupta, senior partner emeritus McKinsey & Co. also
included Poonam Ahluwalia, Executive Director, Youth Employment Summit; Khalid
Alnahdi, Chief of Staff, Dallah Alberaka; Lisa Dreier, Associate Director, Public-Private
Partnerships, World Economic Forum; Oby Ezekwesili, former Nigerian Minister of
Education, current Vice-President for Africa, World Bank; Muni Figueres, former
Costa Rican Minister for Foreign Trade; Jane Nelson, Director, Harvard Kennedy
School Corporate Responsibility Initiative; Jeffrey Sachs, Director, Earth Institute
and Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development at Columbia University; and
Guy Sebban, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce.
The
MDGs, endorsed by 189 countries, are eight goals that promote poverty reduction,
education, maternal health, gender equality, and aim at combating child mortality,
AIDS and other diseases. The United Nations has devoted the year 2008 to build
a renewed momentum around the MDGs, including special attention for the role of
business in development through an initiative known as the Business Call to Action.
The WBDA and the Business Call to Action are not about philanthropy. They challenge
companies to use their core business --whether it be manufacturing, finance or
telecommunications-- in a way that contributes both to sustainable development
and to their own commercial success. They aim to inspire CEOs and companies to
realize that reducing poverty also makes good business sense.
Introduced
by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in 2000, the WBDA have become increasingly
successful each year. In 2004, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) joined with ICC to organize
the awards. The true spirit of the awards lies in the pursuit of productive and
innovative business-driven solutions to sustainable development.
The
2008 World Business and Development Awards are presented in association with the
UK Department for International Development (DFID), Harvard Kennedy School Corporate
Responsibility Initiative and the Financial Times.
About
ZMQ: (www.zmqsoft.com)
ZMQ Software Systems is a Technology for Development company. The company
develops innovative ICT solutions, software, and applications for empowering people
and enabling sustainable development. The company is also focused on developing
innovative ICT products for new markets of the world at the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid
(BOP) by successfully reaching out to grass-root, under-privileged, and marginalized
communities; based on viable and self-sustaining business models in support of
the social cause.
About UNDP: (www.undp.org)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN's global development network,
an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience
and resources to help people build a better life. Working on the ground in 166
countries, the organization supports national partners to address development
challenges and achieve the MDG.
About ICC: (www.iccwbo.org)
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the voice of world business, championing
the global economy as a force for economic growth, job creation and prosperity.
ICC activities cover a broad spectrum, from arbitration and dispute resolution
to making the case for open trade and the market economy system, business self-regulation,
fighting corruption and combating commercial crime.
The International Chamber
of Commerce
About IBLF: (www.iblf.org)
The International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) works with business, governments
and civil society to enhance the contribution that companies can make to sustainable
development. Founded by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, the IBLF is an
independent, not-for-profit organization currently supported by over 100 of the
world's leading businesses.
References:
Click to go the WBDA website: www.businessanddevelopmentawards.org
Click to download the
WBDA brochure: 2008
WBDA Brochure
UNDP
Press Release: Click Here
