From an NIBM student to an NIBM award stage
There is a particular kind of feeling you get when you walk back into a place you used to study,
except this time you’re not carrying an assignment. You’re carrying your company’s name.
That’s what the Entrepreneurs’ Excellence Gala Night 2024 was for me. The event was organised
by the National Institute of Business Management (NIBM), and I sat in NIBM classrooms as a
student not that long ago. On that night I was there as the person representing Webtezza (Pvt)
Ltd and we walked away with the Silver Award in the Software Development & E-commerce
category.
I want to write this one honestly, because award posts usually read like press releases. This
wasn’t a certificate that arrived in the post. There was a process behind it, and I think the process
is the more useful part of the story.
Recognition doesn’t come from what you say about your business. It comes from what your business can prove. — Webtezza
The rounds before the night
Before the gala, there was screening. Then more screening.
Each stage asked us to explain the business properly not the version you say at a networking
event, but the version that holds up when someone asks a follow-up question. We had to lay it
out point by point, with numbers attached. Client work delivered. Categories we operate in. How
the team is structured. What we actually build versus what we outsource. Where the revenue
comes from and where it’s going.
Anyone can talk about “digital transformation” for ten minutes. It’s much harder to sit down and
show the figures behind it. That’s where a lot of the preparation went not into the pitch deck, into
the evidence.
Our project portfolio did a lot of the heavy lifting here. Real stores, running, with real customers
using them. Things like Carefoote EBS Store, a Shopify-based platform selling brewing and
industrial components; Tools Lanka, where we built the brand identity and the e-commerce
platform from scratch; U&T International, an e-commerce build for one of Sri Lanka’s mobile
retailers; and Canan Gifts, a retail store built around product discovery and conversion. Being
judged in a Software Development & E-commerce category, those were the projects that spoke
for us.
Standing in front of people who have seen it all
The panel was the part I was genuinely nervous about.
These were not people you can impress with vocabulary. Business owners and industry
professionals with decades behind them people who have built companies, lost money, fixed
things, and can tell within about thirty seconds whether you understand your own business or
you’re reciting something.
They asked hard questions. Some of them were uncomfortable. But it was easily the most useful
hour I’ve had as a founder, because a panel like that shows you exactly where your thinking is
thin. You come out of it knowing your own business a little better than when you walked in.
Second place, against companies much bigger than us
We finished second in the category, the Silver Award, competing against established businesses
with far more years and far more headcount than we have.
I’ll be straightforward: I’m proud of the second place. Not “we’ll get gold next time” proud.
Genuinely proud. Webtezza is a young company from Kurunegala going up against names that
have been in this industry for a long time, and being placed second in Software Development &
E-commerce by that panel means the work stands on its own.
The certificate reads Webtezza (Pvt) Ltd, signed by the Director General of NIBM. The trophy
sits in our office now, next to the certificate. On some days it’s just an object on a shelf. On other
days it’s a reminder of what a small team can do when it takes itself seriously.
This one goes to the team
I represented the company on stage, but I want to be very clear about something: I would not
have been standing there without my team’s fullest support.
They pulled the numbers together. They prepared the material. They handled client work so the
preparation didn’t slow anything down for anyone who trusts us with their business. Some of
them were there that night, in the same suits, in the same room. The award has the company
name on it, and the company is them.
If you want to see who they are, they’re all on our About Us page. Not stock photos. Actual
people who build the things we ship.
What this changes for the people we work with
Practically speaking? An award doesn’t write code. It doesn’t ship a store.
What it does do is settle a question that a lot of business owners quietly have when they’re
choosing a development partner: are these people serious, or are they going to disappear
halfway through my project? Being reviewed by an independent panel, on the strength of
delivered work, is one answer to that question.
We’re continuing with what got us there software and application development, e-commerce
platforms, business management systems, and design and brand work for companies that want to
look as capable as they actually are. Industrial and corporate clients like Omega International are
part of that same mix.
If you’re building something and want people who’ll ask the uncomfortable questions before they
start writing code, talk to us.
Frequently asked questions
What award did Webtezza win?
Webtezza (Pvt) Ltd won the Silver Award in the Software Development & E-commerce category
at the Entrepreneurs’ Excellence Gala Night 2024, organised by the National Institute of
Business Management (NIBM), Kandy.
Who represented Webtezza at the event?
Shahmy Saneef represented Webtezza (Pvt) Ltd through the screening stages and at the awards
night.
What was the selection process like?
It involved several screening rounds. Businesses had to present themselves point by point,
backed with figures, and then answer questions from a panel of experienced industry and
business professionals.
Why does this award matter for clients?
It means the company’s delivered work was independently reviewed and placed among the
strongest in its category useful context for any business deciding who to trust with a software or
e-commerce project.
What does Webtezza do?
Webtezza builds custom software, e-commerce platforms, business management systems, AI
solutions, and brand and UI/UX design for businesses in Sri Lanka and abroad. You can see the
full range on our services page.