Emerging Industries
Asian Innovation Ecosystem: The Rise of Measurable Impact Awards
The 2026 Asia Innovation Excellence Awards return, focusing on companies that create measurable impact through transformative innovation, reflecting the evolution of Asia's business innovation strategies.
The Asian Business Review announced that nominations for the 2026 Asian Innovation Excellence Awards will open on June 8, with the awards ceremony and gala dinner taking place on October 20 in Singapore. Now in its second year, the awards aim to recognize organizations that have created measurable impact through transformative innovation—whether in products, services, technology, or strategy.
The continuation of this awards program reflects a deeper shift in Asian corporate innovation strategy: mere "novelty" is no longer enough to stand out, as markets and capital increasingly demand quantifiable results from innovation. Take the 2025 winner Manulife Japan as an example—the company won three awards for its branding, human-centered design, and AI applications. Thomas Janssens, its AI director, noted that the awards validated the value of "purpose-driven innovation"—a combination of technological progress and deep empathy.
From a regional economic perspective, the rise of innovation awards in Asia coincides with supply chain restructuring and the wave of digital transformation. Companies in Southeast and Northeast Asia have accelerated their embrace of customer experience, operational change, and sustainability in the post-pandemic era. The award categories—covering customer engagement, operational transformation, sustainability, workplace innovation, and next-generation technologies—serve as a barometer for these trends.
Notably, the awards emphasize "measurable impact," a contrast to many past awards that focused solely on creativity or technical concepts. This suggests that the innovation orientation of Asian enterprises is shifting from "showcasing capability" to "proving value." For investors and industry observers, the list of winners can be seen as an indicator of Asia's innovation potential—highlighting which companies excel at translating ideas into tangible business and social value.
Although nominations have not yet opened, the award categories (such as brand innovation, customer-centric innovation, and distribution innovation) provide a glimpse into the focal areas of innovation competition in Asia. As the Asian Business Review continues to promote the awards, they are expected to become one of the most influential innovation rankings in Asia, offering a regional innovation benchmark for global business leaders.
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