There exists a Maltese man who has become a millionaire ... in Ethiopia.

Now we do not usually associate that African country with riches but in actual fact, this country is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

We shall leave this Maltese man without a name for the time being because we do not have his permission.

We also think of Ethiopia as a country of famine, and worse, of thirst. Which it is. But underneath the land there is a huge subterranean lake. What it needs, thus, is the technology to bring this water up to the surface and to use the water to irrigate the fields.

And this is precisely what the Maltese man has been doing: selling and installing water pumps all over the country. He also services and repairs the pumps, another very important role especially in a country where people have less than rudimentary technical education.

This man set out from Malta years ago and for a time was employed with a foreign entrepreneur who introduced him to the know-how and to the land. Then this foreigner decided to stop his activity and to leave and the way was open for the Maltese man. Who is still there, working hard.

These and similar experiences are mostly unknown here in Malta because many people, like this man, do not like to blow their own trumpets. But they exist and they have success stories to tell. Someone must tell their tale and we willingly take on this role.

Mostly, these people are lone operators who find an opportunity and seek to make it work many times in extreme conditions and with no outside help at all. This makes their success even more resounding.

It is thus important for our society to highlight such success stories especially since they are the result of much hard work and risk-taking. These are among the stories that Trade Malta, for example, has been trying to highlight by awarding the entrepreneurs. These examples must be given more prominence so that more people get attracted to follow these brave people's examples.

The six winners of the first-ever Malta International Business Awards (MIBA) were announced at an event held on Friday 10th November. The awards were instituted to honour the achievements of Malta-based companies seeking to internationalise their products and service.

Representing the best of Maltese exports to the world, the winner of the six categories of MIBA are:

Small Business Category: 365 Squared

Medium-Sized Business Category: Altaro

Large Business Category: Toly Group

Emerging Markets Category: Medserv

Innovation Exporter Category: Ascent Software

High Potential Exporter Category: Thynk Software

Overall Winner: Toly Group

For this inaugural edition, TradeMalta received a total of 38 applications containing more than 900 supporting documents. The finalists have been identified following a rigorous scoring process which was published with the Entrant Guide and each participant was asked to submit documentation pertaining to a host of parameters, including international turnover, profitability, internationalisation efforts, competitive advantage, and innovation and internationalisation capacity.  The audit firm Grant Thornton assisted in the scoring of the submitted applications.