Finder Innovation Awards 2022

Touring Essentials Cup Holder

Touring Essentials' entry was applauded by judges for elegantly solving a very real customer problem.

"Touring Essentials have found one of the biggest complaints with the [Toyota] 70 Series and created an elegant and easy-to-install solution, which utilises dead space in the dashboard", says expert judge Ben Zachariah from CarAdvice.com.au.

"The cup holder has been designed and manufactured to perfectly replicate the colour and texture of the Toyota dash mouldings to make it appear as if it's original equipment," he added.

Hnry

Designed to act as an all-in-one accounting solution for sole traders, Hnry was a clear victor in the B2B category.

Expert judge Eloise Keating from SmartCompany was impressed with the benefits for business owners: "Time is often the most valuable asset a small business owner can have, and Hnry's innovative service is squarely focused on giving sole traders back their time."

Square loans

Like all the best innovations, Square Loans was designed to solve a problem. Its success at actually delivering is why it won the award.

Finder's Money Publisher Alanna Glenn explained: "Proactively analysing the card sales data and offering a loan, rather than having the business fill out hours worth of paperwork is very innovative. The repayment structure as a percentage of sales is also a brilliant idea."

Enosi

Powertracer from Enosi is designed to allow consumers to trace the source of their energy, opening up a spectrum of opportunities to improve transparency and clarity of clean energy across Australia.

Georgia Lourandos from Australian Renewable Energy Agency was one of our expert judges in this category, and she saw plenty of potential in this innovation.

"I think this would help direct [renewable energy] resources in the short-term to those who most value it, and who might then be willing to pay a premium for it, which could in turn support the [renewable energy] industry in the short-term," she said.

Zerocap

Zerocap's Smart Beta Bitcoin fund offers balanced risk exposure to Bitcoin in a regulated unit trust, allowing clients to invest in Bitcoin without the volatility.

Finder's judges, James Edwards & Molly Wiltshire-Bridle, liked the fact that this innovation has worked. "Many managed funds still struggle to handle Bitcoin risk, while Zerocap appears to be bucking the trend and successfully mitigating risk for its clients."

Honey Insurance

Honey Insurance launched as a tech business selling insurance, and its home insurance offering is designed to use technology to reduce claims and lower premiums.

"The preventative appeal of the product and its digital disruption to existing models is outstanding as is the ability to significantly reduce the quote time by a factor of ten. Using AI and other advances to streamline this process will make it easier for consumers to engage in the market and not remain passive with one provider year after year (to their undoubted cost)," said expert judge and founder of Determined Consumer, Chris Zinn.

KOBA Insurance

By using a car's on-board technology, KOBA Insurance manages to help its users save money by only being charged for when they use the car.

Insurance Publisher Tim Bennet sees this as the beginning of the future. "Connected cars are going to be the future of car ownership - for better or worse! Innovations like these help us ensure that there are some solid benefits from this approach for consumers. Just like in life insurance and other risk-rated insurance industries, less risky behaviour should result in lower premiums, which includes less driving. I fully expect the approach that KOBA is taking toward true pay-per-KM pricing to be the norm in the next 5 to 10 years."

BetaCarbon

By leveraging blockchain technology, BetaCarbon has made it possible for people to invest in the Carbon Credit market in Australia, a previously difficult area to invest in.

As Editorial manager for money at Finder, Alison Banney, explained: "This innovation is not only giving access to a market that was previously difficult to access for the majority of investors, but it's also working to disincentivise emissions and incentivise more carbon projects. It's a win-win."

Bridgit

Bridgit's tech-first lending solution for short term and bridging loans allows homeowners to leverage their equity to buy property before selling their existing home.

Expert judge Michael Yardney, Director at Metropole Property Specialists, was impressed. "A great innovation for home buyers in this challenging housing market.The ability to get a bridging loan approved quickly and without all the typical paperwork will remove a lot of stress for many home buyers who don't want to sell first and face the uncertainty of finding a new home during the settlement period," he said.

Aussie Broadband

In order to support its massive growth, Aussie Broadband invested heavily in its customer service, including new call centres and new programs for simplifying customer interactions.

Finder's Isaiah Peralta, Head of Distributed Services and Acting Customer Care Manager said: "Aussie broadband continues to display a strong desire to support to the voice of the customer efforts and its reputation of service to it's Customers. Innovation of new technologies to create value down the chain such as the Fault Detector Project enhancing the customers experience to troubleshoot reflects their strong commitment to delivering exceptional customer service over 2021/22."

Instant

Looking to take the friction out of the online payments space, Instant delivers a customer-focused one-click payments solution.

"This is a snappy, impactful entry from two entrepreneurial young men who have completely understood one of the most common pain points across most ecommerce businesses (which is most businesses these days). This particular payment innovation no doubt has the capability to make a tremendous difference for a lot of businesses across Australia and the globe," said Jessica Yun, Business reporter for the SMH and judge for the best payment innovation category.

MILKRUN

Promising to revolutionise grocery delivery during the height of the pandemic, MILKRUN stood out due to its commitment to its staff and impressive impact.

"MILKRUN has been a truly impressive disruptor to the grocery delivery space, evidenced by other similar apps popping up off the back of it. The fact that its employees are salaried is also fantastic," said Tegan Jones, Reviews Editor at Finder.

Zero Co

With a mission to reduce single-use plastics (SUP), Zero CO launched its SUP and refillable body care range of products, simplifying the process for consumers to refill and reuse plastics instead of disposing of the packaging.

Heather McIlvaine, Managing Editor at Inside Retail said: "The difficulty of changing ingrained shopping behaviour -- such as buying new bottles of shampoo and conditioner from the supermarket every few months -- cannot be overstated; and this is where ZeroCo truly impresses. The number of body care products it has sold in the last 12 months -- and number of new customers it has acquired -- suggests that it is actually converting people to a greener way of shopping."

updoc

In order to help lessen the burden on the healthcare system in Australia, updoc has beuilt a platform that facilitates the interaction between doctors and patients.

"The targeted focus of updoc solves a clear pain-point for the medical industry and people seeking simple healthcare outcomes," said Amy Bradney-George, senior writer for Finder Green.

RayGen

RayGen's solar-plus-storage technology combines RayGen's PV Ultra (co-generation solar and heat) and Thermal Hydro (electro-thermal energy storage) technologies to deliver low-cost, dispatchable, synchronous energy to the grid.

"This is a much needed project in Australia with certain coal plants set to be decommissioned. The fact that it will send electricity to the grid and and participate in the NEM (with lower costs) is great because we've just been through massive blackout scares. There's a major focus in Australia on the need for storage and 'deep storage' technologies to back up a move to greater sources of renewable energy as coal plants retire. Having the type of storage RayGen boasts is meant to last days or even weeks and I think this could be critical in ensuring a smooth transition to clean energy," said Mariam Gabaji in her judging.

Pixelcase Group

Aero Ranger from Pixelcase Group is software platform that allows local councils, town planners, parking rangers and law enforcement to automatically collect vehicle data such as licence plate, make, model and colour.

Angus Kidman, Editor-at-large for Finder described the entry as: "Impressive combination of hardware and a subscription model to provide an efficient service to cash-strapped local councils."

Aussie Broadband

Aussie Broadband launched the Fault Detector Project in September 2021 to pro-actively detect and resolve broadband faults for its customers.

"Fault detection processes may not sound the most exciting of innovations but given the manifold frustrations for consumers and suppliers of inconsistent broadband service, they are essential," said judge Chris Zinn, founder of Determined Consumer.

Fast Cover Travel Insurance

Fast Cover's COVID-19 Benefits & Refund Policy is designed to give cover and peace of mind when choosing insurance for travel in a post-pandemic world.

"Travel insurance with COVID-19 cover is exactly the kind of insurance policy that travellers are looking for as the travel industry looks to rebuild confidence. While other insurers also offer cover for contacting COVID-19 while travelling, Fast Cover's provision for anyone contracting COVID-19 within 7 days of departure sets it apart. Fast Cover has tailored a product that meets the needs of today's travellers, reflected in its impressive customer take-up rate and revenue growth," said Michael Gebicki, travel journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald.

MONEYME

MONEYME is riding high on its most successful period to date, powered by its in-house AI platform AIDEN and the launch of its revolutionary loan product Autopay.

"MONEYME seemed to have 'broken clear' of the rest of online lenders in a crowded market," said Cameron Dart, CEO of Australian FinTech.

Ross Macdougald - The BioVerse Group

Ross Macdougald, director of research and development at Biologi (part of the BioVerse Group) researched and developed an innovative surface disinfectant and hand sanitiser in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The product now has US FDA appoval and will shortly have US EPA approval as well.

Judge May Samali, Founder, Executive Coach and Facilitator at Human Leadership Lab said: "Novel approach to improving a product used by millions, especially during the pandemic. Strong environmental and health benefits. Innovative mindset extends beyond multiple products and companies."

The BioVerse Group

The BioVERSE Group have created a number of unique lines of product, including a 'clean' skin care range under Biologi and a COVID-19 disinfectant and hand sanitiser under ViroCLEAR. It is the R&D and success of these products over the last 15 months that helped this win the award.

"Innovation in a saturated market is no easy feat, so it's great to see BioVerse leading the pack with a social conscious. There is clearly a lot of research and development going into their products that is starting to distinguish them from other beauty products in the market," said Finder's Shirley Liu, Head of Program Management.