Ten days ago I was lucky enough to be invited to the 10th annual Meffys awards in San Francisco. This was the first time they’ve taken place in California and probably, the seventh time I’ve attended them in a decade.
A lot, of course, has changed in ten years and the most notable change has been how mobile is now an industry that finally encompasses the greatest one of all; Africa.
The 10th anniversary Awards received entries from more than 25 countries across all five continents from both established mobile companies and innovative start-ups as well as representatives from new sectors including the internet, banks and agencies.
Supported by Kaspersky Lab, Real Networks, Vserv.mobi, KPMG and Barclays, the Gala Dinner brought together more than 200 global finalists and guests and was hosted by Emmy-nominated and award-winning author, and Google’s Head of Media Outreach, Partnerships Lead Daniel Sieberg. It was a great evening and I’m intrigued to see whether the Meffys will be back in London next year or will remain in Silicon Valley; my money’s on the latter.
“The 2013 Meffys have once again marked an amazing year of mobile success and innovation from across the globe. It was fantastic to host the Awards in San Francisco with the inaugural MEF Global Forum 2013 to connect and celebrate emergent and global mobile companies with those based in Silicon Valley,” said Rimma Perelmuter, CEO of MEF.
MEFFYS 2013 WINNERS IN FULL
Brand on Mobile Award
Brandtone for Pepsico / Credito Para Torcida
Consumer Trust Award
NQ Mobile for NQ Mobile Security
Content Service Award
Maluuba
Discovery & Engagement Award
Everything.me
Games
ZeptoLab for Cut The Rope Cheese Box
Life Tools App Award
Tile for Tile
Mobile Money
Barclays for Pingit: Picture Payments
Social & Entertainment App Award
Shazam for Shazam for TV Service
Social Responsibility & Development Award
Mahindra Comviva for Ecocash powered by Mobiquity
Innovation Award for App
SwiftKey for SwiftKey 4
Innovation Award for Technology
Mozilla for Firefox OS
Innovation Award for a Growth Market Initiative
moWoza
Innovative Business Model
Fortumo for Android App Distribution
Monty Munford has more than 15 years' experience in mobile, digital media, web and journalism. He is the founder of Mob76, a company that helps tech companies raise money and exit. He speaks regularly at global media events with a focus on Africa, writes a weekly column for The Telegraph, is a regular contributor to The Economist, Wired, Mashable and speaks regularly on the BBC World Service.
