TEES TECH AWARDS 2024
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AWARD
SPONSORED BY AZETS
Award – Azets Teesside managing partner Andrew Rowe presented the Digital Transformation category to Nadia Gibany of Nite Light .
WINNER
NITE LIGHT
“ We ’ re a small company that has a big impact .” So says Nadia Gibany , director of a Community Interest Company ( CIC ) that has embraced technology to such an extent , it won the Digital Transformation prize at the Tees Tech Awards .
Nite Light was set up in 2020 to help vulnerable Teessiders by providing basic essentials , free of charge .
But it ’ s never been afraid to innovate and its digital “ Pay Forward ” scheme , where donors buy goods and services online rather than handing cash out on the streets , has been a game-changer .
It ’ s not the only way it uses technology , however , with other digital developments including making PCs available for public use at its community hub and partnering with the National Digital Inclusion Network to make free SIM cards available .
And Nadia ’ s delight at receiving the Digital Transformation award , which was sponsored for the fifth time by Azets , is tempered by the knowledge that the fact Nite Light exists means there are still big problems in society .
She said : “ There ’ s still a huge need for our services , unfortunately . Providing our services is never a good thing because it just means people are struggling .
“ It ’ s not good for us to be really busy , which is different to conventional business , if you like .
“ We ’ re a small company that has a big impact . We ’ re here to serve the community and that ’ s what we do best .”
With eight funded staff members and 62 volunteers , Nite Light , says Nadia , is always looking for “ simple , effective and innovative ways to help our community ” – and isn ’ t afraid to use digital solutions .
She added : “ Our first ever product , the Pay Forward service , was digital technology-based , and we try to do our best to increase that because you can ’ t do anything without digital technology these days .
“ If you don ’ t have access to a phone , you don ’ t have a SIM card , you don ’ t have a PC , you ’ re quite struck really , but we can help .
“ We ’ re always looking for simple , effective , innovative ways to help our community .”
FINALIST
MADE FOR TRADE
Aanco UK – trading as Made for Trade – is a 40-year-old family business well-known on Teesside for the installation of domestic windows , doors and conservatories .
MFT , as it ’ s now known , has grown to become one of the UK ’ s largest trade fabricators of bifolding doors and roofing products – a status achieved by doing things differently and disrupting the industry with in-house , highly innovative product design and upscaling its manufacturing to cope with product demand .
Employing around 250 staff in three Teesside locations , it now has bold plans to grow its product range , continue its digital transformation and record a “ gold standard ” service to become the preferred fenestration supplier nationwide .
FINALIST
ELADENE SYSTEMS
Eladene Systems is an innovative SAAS ( software as a service ) product developed by and for those working in the vehicle dismantling sector . It was launched as a spin-off business / product by Stockton-based Status Porsche in 2021 to help with the management of huge quantities of recyclable car parts .
Until 2021 , the business was using a largely paper-based system that affected processes , productivity and profitability . It realised it could easily solve a lot of these problems by exploring and investing in a digital solution .
The result is a platform trusted by industry leaders , to the extent that it scooped two awards at the Vehicle Recycling Excellence Awards 2022 .
SPONSOR ’ S REFLECTIONS :
Andrew Rowe , managing partner , Azets Teesside “ While the Tees Tech Awards are a brilliant celebration of tech businesses , we like this award because it shows how tech can transform non-tech businesses – which is the sort of thing we do . The quality of candidates is fantastic , and it just shows the breadth of businesses – Nite Light is a different entity to the other two . It ’ s always a good category and very diverse , which is why we really like it .”
WINNERS ’ ROLL CALL : 2020 : Everflow Group 2021 : Sapere Software 2022 : Mersen 2023 : Recruitrite
150 | Tees Business