Resilient Entrepreneurs Recognized for Global Impact in Seventh Annual Payoneer Entrepreneurship Awards

Payoneer (Nasdaq: PAYO), the financial technology company empowering the world’s small businesses and entrepreneurs to transact, do business and grow globally, has today announced the winners of its seventh annual Entrepreneurship Awards. With over 9,000 entrants from over 150 countries, the awards recognize global entrepreneurs who have disrupted their respective markets and demonstrated resilience and innovation.

This year’s awards bring together innovators from across the world with winners from Argentina, China, India, Serbia, Thailand, the United States, and Ukraine. The businesses are demonstrating innovative approaches to scaling their business, expanding internationally, and building resilience. The diverse geographical spread of both the entrants and winners is testimony to the borderless nature of entrepreneurship in today’s digital global economy.

The seven category winners, including the all-new Eco Impact Business award, are:

• Disruptive Business: Denys Shkribliak, Owner & Founder, Wood and Hearts Inc (Ukraine)
• Socially Responsible Business: William Scott, CEO, Dynamo (United States)
• Ecommerce Business: Nitcharee Ujjin, Co-Founder, THUMBINTHAI CO., LTD., (Thailand)
• Ecommerce Business: Yangzhong Wang, Founder & CEO, Colorpik Inc. (China)
• Eco Impact Business: Prem Zalzman, Co-Founder & Sr. Manager of Strategic Innovation, Kolibri (Argentina)
• Services Business: Shaheen Madraswala, Founder & CBO, Leamigo Technologies (India)
• Services Business: Ognjen Vukovic, CEO & Owner, Four Winds Digital LTD (Serbia)

The winners have shown the resilience to innovate in the face of challenges such as the impact of war and economic downturn. This year’s awards also included a new category, the Eco Impact Business award, recognizing the important role that entrepreneurs are playing across the world in addressing global environmental challenges.

John Caplan, CEO of Payoneer, commented:

“Congratulations to all our winners and business leaders who entered the Payoneer Entrepreneurship Awards. Cross-border small businesses are the heart of global trade, and it is inspiring to see our customers from across the world make a meaningful impact on their local communities and the global economy. Payoneer entrepreneurs are the best in the world and this award is our way to recognize the very best.”

To further the impact of these businesses, Payoneer has partnered with Kiva, an international nonprofit with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive. The winners are awarded credits that give them the chance to pay it forward to other entrepreneurs who need the funding to keep growing and to experience the power of microfinancing their businesses.

One of the winners who will be receiving Kiva credits is Wood and Hearts Inc, a Montessori furniture manufacturer in Ukraine. Wood and Hearts won the disruptive business award for their pioneering child-safe non-toxic products. After the war in Ukraine caused the majority of their production lines to cease operations, Wood and Hearts used Payoneer’s working capital solution to establish new manufacturing sites in other regions of the country. Denys Shkribliak, Owner & Founder, commented on the motivation behind his work: “My kids have always been my inspiration. I started to work with wood when I understood that plastic toys may be harmful to the health of my kids. All I do now is because of my dear family.”

Learn more about each of the award winners on the Payoneer blog.

About Payoneer

Payoneer is the financial technology company empowering the world’s small businesses to transact, do business and grow globally. Payoneer was founded in 2005 with the belief that talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. It is our mission to enable anyone anywhere to participate and succeed in the global digital economy. Since our founding, we have built a global financial platform that has already made it easier for millions of SMBs, particularly in emerging markets, to pay and get paid, manage their funds, and grow their business.

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