The inaugural KIM Annual Business Awards, organised by the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM), was held on Friday evening at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

The event, that will be held yearly, will seek to identify and recognise SMEs that have practical and results oriented management styles.

KABA will be a departure from the Company of the Year Awards that has been pitting large companies with small enterprises and in turn seen fewer SMEs coming on board," said Mr Mwangi Ngumo, Executive Director KIM.

Polucon Services Kenya, an inspection, quality and pollution control company, dominated the awards. In addition to being named the SME of the year, the Mombasa based company won the procurement and logistics and human resources management awards.

In a speech read on his behalf by the Trade PS Cyrus Njiru, Trade Minister Uhuru Kenyatta urged SMEs to explore the regional market as it offered a large market. He said that the Tripartite summit held last week in Kampala, Uganda by leaders from the East African Community, Southern Africa Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa was successful and had agreed to work towards the creation of an eventual customs union. He said Kenyan businesses should ready themselves to take advantage of the large market.