by Ninder Kaur
Awards season is in full swing, with Asian Business awards taking place in the North and South this month. Businesses from across the country will get together to celebrate the UK’s rich ethnic business men and women with the upcoming Yorkshire Asian Business Association Awards and The Asian Achiever Awards.
The Yorkshire Asian Business Association set out to provide a voice for businesses on a regional, national and international level. The YABA works under the framework of the National Asian Business Association (NABA – www. nabauk.org) to develop a cohesive, comprehensive strategy to be the voice of Asian Businesses.
As part of their annual gala dinner, which takes place on Thursday 24 September, YABA will also be announcing the winners of their annual business awards. Nominations and entries have been particularly high this year with entries from businesses all over the region. With an esteemed judging panel such as Clare Barclay, General Manager of the Small, Medium Enterprise & Partner Group, Microsoft UK, Natalie Sykes – Regional Director, IoD Yorkshire & North East, Griselda Togobo – Managing Director, Forward Ladies, Vijay Goel – President, Asian Business Association, Tommy Nagra – Head of Channel Development & Partnerships, BBC Children’s. Formerly Head of Religion and Ethics, BBC, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi – House of Lords,
Juilette Healey – Agent, Bank of England, Josh Wong – Partner, DLA Piper UK LLP and not to forget YABA president, Ajaz Ahmed and YABA board member Rajeev Dewedi
Sharon Jandu, a spokesman for YABA, said: “Our team of are now pouring over the nominations to make their final selections ahead of the event.”
“They will be looking at the impact on customers, suppliers, partners and the region, innovation and leadership, as well as the reasons the nominee stands out against their peers.”
Here is the shortlist for the final round:
Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year
Sukhvinder Javeed –
MilkysnugzTM
Naeem Sheikh –
Pegasus Motor Insurance Sayam Majid – FX Introducer
Food & Drink Business of the Year
Shakoor Ahmed – MyLahore
Bobby Patel – Prashad
Professional of the Year
Surender Munjal – Leeds University
Qari Asim – DLA Piper
Arnab Basu – Kromek Group
Arif Ahmad – PwC
International Business of the Year
Sharon Kaur – Really Indian Ltd
Sukhvinder Javeed – MilkysnugzTM
Arnab Basu – Kromek Group
Retail Business of the Year
Ahmed Mulla -Mullaco Dewsbury Ltd
Thakorlal Bhagubhai Patel – TB Cash & Carry
Zak Patel – Talk Direct
SME Business of the Year
Thakorlal Bhagubhai Patel -TB Cash & Carry
Zak Patel – Talk Direct
The Street Lane Bakery
Parvinder Bhabra -Northern Cam Co Ltd
Ricci Dean – Pearl Noir
YABA’s annual business awards aims to showcase the best of the region’s talent and an opportunity for entrepreneurs to come together and celebrate success. The organisers also believe in giving back and this year is no exception as the chosen charity for this year’s event will be Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Further information about the awards can be found at www. yabaawards.com
Meanwhile in the south the nominees for the 15th annual Asian Achiever Awards have also been announced. The event will take place on Friday, 18 September at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.
The Asian Achiever Awards (AAA) is hosted by Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL), and will be celebrating its fifteenth year this with an exceptional list of South Asian and British Asian achievers in all fields of sport, fashion, business, media and the civil services.
Publisher and Editor of the ABPL Group, Mr CB Patel said: “We were overwhelmed with the calibre of entries for the Asian Achievers Awards this year, but our judges led by Sir Vince Cable, have once again done a stellar job in short listing nominees.
“Each year we celebrate inspirational role models and pillars in our community, and our nominees this year represent this ethos to perfection and I would like to send a sincere thanks to all those who took the time to nominate.”
The nominees for this year’s awards include the likes of England cricketing legend Moeen Ali, Citizen Khan’s
Adil Ray and Sports Agent, Shehneela Ahmed. Also competing head to head is Nitin Passi (MissGuided), Nish and Sach Kukadia (Secret Sales) and entrepreneur Vanita Parti MBE (Blink Brow Bar) who have all been all nominated for ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’.
For the 15th edition, ABPL have chosen the Awards’ theme to celebrate the contribution of Asians in Uniformed and Civil Services.
Patel adds: “In the landmark 15th year of the Asian Achievers Awards it brings me much pride to pay special homage to British Asian men and women who help to both run our country and also protect it.”
“Their remarkable deeds can be life-changing, and even life-saving, and this is our opportunity to thank them.”
In the ‘Uniformed And Civil Services’ category, nominees include Lance Corporal Tuljung Gurung (The Royal Gurkha Rifles), Imam Asim Hafiz OBE MA (British Armed Forces), and Makhdum Ali Chishty (Metropolitan Police).
Here is the full list of nominations of the Asian Achievers Awards 2015:
Business Person Of The Year
Iqbal Ahmed OBE – Seamark PLC
Jasminder Singh – The Mayfair Hotel
Zameer Choudrey – Bestway Group
Surinder Arora – Arora Hotels
Entrepreneur Of The Year
Nish & Sach Kukadia – Secret Sales
Vanita Parti MBE – Blink Brow Bar
Nitin Passi – Missguided Karam
Sethi & Jyotin Sethi – JKS Restaurants
Sports Personality Of The Year
Rimla Akhtar – FA Council Member
Shehneela Ahmed – Sports Agent
Moeen Ali – England Cricketer
Ira Banerjee – Badminton Player
Uniformed And Civil Services
Lance Corporal Tuljung Gurung – The Royal Gurkha Rifles
Imam Asim Hafiz OBE MA – British Armed Forces
Jaswant Kaur Narwal – Crown Prosecution Service
Makhdum Ali Chishty – Metropolitan Police
Media, Arts And Culture
Deeyah Khan – Human Rights Activist /Film Director
Romesh Gunasekera – Author
Adil Ray – British Actor
Asif Khan – Architect
Woman Of The Year
Bindi Karia – Vice President Of Silicon Valley Bank UK
Dr. Irene Khan – Lawyer
Dame Zarin Kharas DBE – Co-Founder, Just Giving
Smruti Sriram – CEO, Supreme Creations Achievement
In Community Service
Amir Cheema MBE – Community Service
Arun Patel – Founder, Polio Children
Jasvinder Sanghera CBE – Founder, Karma Nirvana
Husna Parvin Ahmad OBE – Secretary General, World Muslim Leadership Forum
Professional Of The Year
Satvir Bungar – Director, BDO Anita Balchandani
Dr Farah Bhatti – Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Prof Venugopal K Nair OBE – Head Of Viral Oncogenesis Group
Charity partner for 2015 is the ‘Loomba Foundation’, which offers aid and protection to widows and children.
