Five Kelowna companies have been named a finalist for the Small Business B.C. Awards.
Central Kitchen bar is up for Best Employer while Mazu and Two Hat Security are nominated as a finalists for Best Innovation. Rambow Mechanical is up for Best Apprentice Training and Infuse I.T./VinStream is nominated for Best Concept.
The Small Business BC Awards is the largest small business awards competition in the province. These awards recognize the outstanding achievements of British Columbia's entrepreneurs and celebrate the contributions new and existing businesses registered in B.C., with fewer than 50 employees, make to their local communities and the global economy.
Those who activated their communities and received the most votes between October 1 and November 30, 2016 were named the Top 10 Semi-Finalists on December 12, 2016 and invited to submit a more detailed application. These applications were used to decide the Top 5 Finalists in this year's competition.
These outstanding businesses will now face a Dragons' Den-style panel of business experts who will determine the winner in each category.
Pitches will be held in-person at Small Business BC in Vancouver between February 6-14, 2017.
The winners will be announced at the 14th Annual Small Business BC Awards Ceremony at the Pan Pacific Vancouver on Thursday, February 23, 2017 during an evening of drinks, appetizers and networking with 500 B.C. business owners, industry influencers, government officials and special guests.
Recipients of Small Business BC Awards will be recognized with the Premier's Prize in the amount of $1,500 cash, a one-year all-access pass to Small Business BC education, resources and experts, and one-on-one business mentorship with notable advisors from the award sponsors.
More details on the Small Business BC Awards and Small Business BC Awards Ceremony can be found at www.sbbcawards.ca.