How to Enter MEFFYs 2026 Awards: Complete Submission Guide

Nominations are now open for the 21st MEFFYs Awards, the mobile industry’s premier recognition platform celebrating excellence across connectivity, payments, messaging, and emerging technologies. If your company or innovation has advanced the mobile ecosystem in 2025, here’s your step-by-step guide to submitting a winning entry before the January 16, 2026 deadline.

The awards ceremony takes place March 1, 2026 in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress week, offering global visibility for winners across nine competitive categories plus a special achievement award.

What You’ll Need Before Starting Your Entry

Before beginning your MEFFYs submission, ensure you have:

Product/service documentation from 2025 (launch dates, technical specifications, impact metrics)
Quantifiable results: User adoption numbers, transaction volumes, security improvements, or sustainability metrics
Supporting materials: Case studies, testimonials, or third-party validation
Company information: Official registration details and contact information
Category selection: Identify which of the nine categories best fits your innovation

Eligibility: Entry is open to all companies, startups, and innovators globally. You don’t need to be a Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) member to submit nominations.

Step 1: Choose Your Award Category

Select the category that best aligns with your innovation. The MEFFYs 2026 features nine competitive categories:

1. Content & Advertising
Submit innovations in mobile content delivery or advertising services that enhanced user engagement or monetization in 2025.

2. Payments & Commerce
Showcase mobile payment solutions demonstrating superior usability, security, or financial inclusion impact. Relevant for Saudi fintech: Tamara, Tabby, STC Pay, SADAD.

3. ID & Data
Highlight authentication innovations including biometric systems, digital identity solutions, or privacy-preserving technologies.

4. Connectivity & Wholesale
Enter breakthrough solutions in network connectivity, global roaming, or wholesale telecommunications infrastructure. Relevant for Saudi operators: stc Group, Mobily, Zain KSA.

5. Messaging Channels
Submit messaging platforms enabling richer communication, business messaging, or conversational commerce solutions.

6. Omnichannel Customer Experience
Demonstrate enterprise communications campaigns that unified customer touchpoints across channels with measurable business impact.

7. Mobile Evolution
Showcase groundbreaking advancements in mobile technology or networks including 5G applications, edge computing, or network virtualization.

8. Antifraud
Enter solutions protecting mobile users and networks against emerging threats including AI-powered fraud detection or identity verification systems.

9. ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)
Highlight initiatives advancing sustainability, social responsibility, or corporate governance in mobile operations. Relevant for Saudi Vision 2030 alignment.

Special Award: Personal Contribution to the Mobile Ecosystem
Nominate individuals who distinguished themselves through impactful innovations, industry collaborations, or consumer protection leadership.

Important: Companies can submit nominations for multiple categories only if each entry represents a different product, service, or use case.

Step 2: Access the Submission Portal

Navigate to the official entry portal:
https://mobileecosystemforum.com/meffys/

Create an account or log in if you’ve entered previous MEFFYs editions. The platform guides you through category-specific submission forms optimized for each award type.

Step 3: Complete Your Nomination Form

Prepare compelling responses to category-specific questions. Typical requirements include:

Innovation Description (200-300 words):

What problem does your solution address?
What makes your approach unique or groundbreaking?
When did you launch or implement this innovation?

Measurable Impact (quantitative data required):

User adoption metrics or growth rates
Transaction volumes or revenue impact
Security improvements or fraud reduction percentages
Environmental/social impact metrics (for ESG category)

Market Differentiation:

How does your solution compare to existing alternatives?
What competitive advantages does it offer?
What third-party validation or recognition have you received?

Supporting Evidence:

Upload case studies, white papers, or customer testimonials
Provide links to live implementations or demos
Include media coverage or industry analyst reports

Step 4: Review Entry Rules and Submit

Before final submission, verify compliance with official entry rules:
https://mobileecosystemforum.com/entry-rules/

Key rules to remember:

One product/service per category submission
Innovation must have been active/launched during 2025
Submissions must be in English
All claims must be verifiable with supporting documentation

Submission deadline: Thursday, January 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM CET (Central European Time)

Submit your completed nomination through the portal. You’ll receive email confirmation with a reference number.

Step 5: Understand the Voting Process

MEFFYs winners are determined through member voting, not judging panels:

Who can vote:

MEF members (companies and organizations)
MEF Minute newsletter subscribers
Join at: https://mobileecosystemforum.com/members/

Voting timeline:

Voting opens: Mid-January 2026 (after submission deadline)
Voting closes: Monday, February 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM CET

Winners are announced during the awards dinner on Sunday, March 1, 2026 in Barcelona.

Step 6: Plan Your Awards Attendance

If shortlisted or selected as a winner, prepare for the Barcelona ceremony:

Event Details:

Date: Sunday, March 1, 2026
Location: Barcelona, Spain (during Mobile World Congress week)
Format: Sit-down dinner followed by Masquerade Ball after-party

Attendance: Open to both MEF members and non-members. Registration details available at the MEFFYs website.

Networking value: The dinner brings together 300+ mobile ecosystem leaders from operators, technology providers, fintech companies, and regulatory bodies across 40+ countries.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

When preparing your MEFFYs entry, watch out for these frequent pitfalls:

Vague claims without data: Judges and voters prioritize quantifiable results over marketing language. Include specific metrics.

Wrong category selection: Carefully review category descriptions. Misaligned entries reduce your chances regardless of innovation quality.

Missing deadline: CET timezone confusion causes missed submissions. Convert 12:00 PM CET January 16 to your local time zone in advance.

Incomplete documentation: Upload all required supporting materials during initial submission. Late additions aren’t accepted.

Multiple products in one entry: If you want to enter different solutions, submit separate nominations for each.

Why Saudi Companies Should Participate

The MEFFYs platform offers strategic value for Kingdom-based innovators:

Global visibility: Winners gain recognition across 159 countries where MEF members operate, supporting Saudi Arabia’s ambitions as a regional tech hub.

Investment attraction: Award recognition validates technology readiness for international expansion and attracts potential partners or investors.

Vision 2030 alignment: Categories spanning payments, connectivity, and ESG directly support Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation objectives.

Benchmarking opportunity: Competing against global innovators provides insights into international best practices and competitive positioning.

Recent Saudi innovations eligible to compete:

stc Group’s 5G network applications and IoT platforms
SADAD’s government payment infrastructure
Tamara and Tabby’s BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) fintech solutions
Mobily’s enterprise connectivity solutions
Zain KSA’s digital services ecosystem

Next Steps: Submit Before January 16

The 21st MEFFYs Awards represent the mobile industry’s most comprehensive recognition of innovation across the ecosystem. Whether you’re a startup with a breakthrough authentication technology or an enterprise that deployed a transformative omnichannel solution, the platform provides peer-validated recognition from industry leaders.

Action checklist:

Review the nine categories and select your best fit
Gather quantitative impact data and supporting documentation
Access the submission portal at mobileecosystemforum.com/meffys
Complete your nomination before January 16, 2026 at noon CET
Encourage your network to join MEF voting membership
Plan Barcelona travel for March 1 awards ceremony

The submission window closes in less than 30 days. Start preparing your entry today to showcase your contribution to the global mobile ecosystem’s evolution.