The 21st annual Asian Achievers Awards took place in London on 15 September, bringing together attendees from around the world to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of British South Asians in various fields.
The event, hosted by Eastenders actor Nitin Ganatra and Pakistani Balu Mahi actress Ainy Jaffri Rahman, drew over 500 guests from business, entertainment, and public service.
Among the distinguished winners was WBC silver middleweight champion Hamzah Sheeraz, who had recently secured his 18th career knockout victory.
The awards ceremony also shed light on the tireless efforts of healthcare workers during the challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Notably, three NHS workers were honoured for their exceptional contributions.
Here’s a full list of winners
Art and Culture: Jasdeep Singh Degun
Degun is a virtuoso sitarist and composer who skilfully merges Indian classical and contemporary music, transcending cultural confines with his exceptional artistry. He unveiled his debut album Anomaly last year, under Real World Records. Jasdeep’s cross-cultural production Orpheus earned secured him the 2022 Critics’ Circle Music Award. He is also the first Indian classical musician to be artist-in-residence at Opera North.
Business Person of the Year: Dr Harren Jhoti FRS OBE
Since co-founding his biotech company Astex Pharmaceuticals in 1999 to discover and develop of drugs in oncology and diseases of the central nervous system, CEO and President Dr Jhoti was presented with an OBE in 2023 for his contribution to the industry. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018, the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2016 and the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015. He is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UK BioIndustry Association.
Image: Asian Achievers Award
Community Service: Poulomi Desai
Desai is a British artist, photographer, curator and activist community worker. Poulomi’s work spans multiple mediums, including performance, photography, language and sound, blending digital and analogue elements in innovative ways. Her artistic practice is characterised by its performative, textual and image-based nature. As an activist community worker, she actively engages with her local community, using her art as a catalyst for social change.
Entrepreneur of the Year: Tani Dulay
Dulay is the CEO of Woodbourne Group as well as the visionary behind Woodbourne Ventures, an early capital and pre-seed accelerator fund that supports ambitious fellow entrepreneurs. He is also the driving force behind Curzon Wharf, the £360m, world’s first mixed-use net zero carbon ready masterplan.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Shashikant K Vekaria
Vekaria is the co-founder and Chairman of Vascroft Contractors Ltd, with over 50 years of
expertise in the construction field. He has helped organise and deliver Prime Minister Modi’s
events in the UK and Europe and has constructed numerous luxury hotels, community buildings and high-end residential projects in and around London and the home-counties.
Media: Anila Dhami
Dhami is an award-winning presenter and journalist whose career spans ten years at some of the biggest media companies, also freelances with C5 News, ITV London and LBC. Anila covers local, national and international news; interviews MPs, experts and celebrities; and provides the space for people to share their stories. She is the Ambassador of charities Barnardo’s and Binti.
Professional of the Year: Dr Nikki Kanani
Dr Kanani is a GP and Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England and NHS Improvement. She was Chief Clinical Officer of NHS Bexley Clinical Commissioning Group. Nikki has held a range of positions within healthcare to support the development of innovative models of care, and highly engaged clinical, patient and public leadership. She is a member of The King’s Fund General Advisory Council and co-founded STEMMsisters, a social enterprise supporting young people to study science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine.
Special Award for Contribution to Music: Kanika Kapoor
Kapoor is a singer born and raised in Lucknow and her debut music video ‘Jugni Ji’ in 2012 was a commercial success. In 2014, her Bollywood playback singing career launched with ‘Baby Doll’ from Ragini MMS 2. After topping the charts, Kapoor received wide critical acclaim and accolades for her singing style, including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Since then, she has sung many hit songs including ‘Lovely’ from Happy New Year and ‘Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan’ from Roy. Kanika has also been a judge on the Indian reality show of The Voice and runs her fashion brand named ‘Kanika Kapoor: House of Chikankari’.
Sports Personality of the Year: Hamzah Sheeraz
Sheeraz is a British professional boxer and with an undefeated professional record, he has won all 18 of his fights with an impressive 18 victories coming by knockout. Hamzah holds the WBO European light-middleweight title, which he has successfully defended since 2019. He was awarded the 2021 British Young Fighter of the Year award.
Uniformed and Civil Service: Salman Desai BEM
Desai is the Deputy CEO and Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Transformation for the North West Ambulance Service. Salman joined the Ambulance Service in 1997 as a Paramedic. From 2007 to 2015 he was Head of Service Development, undertaking a number of roles transforming services for patients. In addition to this, he provided Commander Support in response to the Cumbria shooting and flooding (2010/15). Representation from ethnic minority communities is traditionally low in the ambulance sector and Desai has worked hard to redress the balance.
Woman of the Year: Dr Lalitha Iyer
Dr Iyer is the Chief Medical Officer for NHS Frimley, as well as a Queen’s Award winner for
inspirational voluntary work with ethnic communities. She has over 25 years of hospital experience looking after women as an obstetrician and gynaecologist, followed by a career change as a GP. Lalitha was the leader of the COVID-19 national pilot in Slough, targeting the reduction of deaths in ethnic communities, followed by a national roll-out saving thousands of lives. This combination of experience has made her acutely aware of the impact of language barriers, deprivation and cultural aspects on the health and well-being of women.
Notable attendees included Deputy Mayor of Business for London Rajesh Agrawal, Sigma Pharmaceuticals founder Dr. Bharat Shah CBE, and Lord Dolar Popat, the first Gujarati to represent the Conservative Party in the Upper House. Lord Jeffrey Archer, a renowned novelist, conducted a charity auction on behalf of One Kind Act, raising an impressive £200,000 to support poverty alleviation and education causes across Africa and South Asia. The Asian Achievers Awards have raised over £5 million for charitable causes over the past two decades.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The Asian Achievers Awards provide a great opportunity for us to recognise the outstanding accomplishments of British Asians in the UK. It is good to celebrate the positive impact and contribution all the nominees have made in creating a more modern, dynamic and globally-facing economy in the UK.”
The event was organised by global advisory firm EPG alongside bridging loan company Market Financial Solutions (MFS). Paresh Raja, CEO of MFS, said: “We need to celebrate British South Asian successes given just how unlikely they could have been. It takes a lot for generations of families with overseas roots to adapt and fit in with a different society. Not to mention all the other civil challenges they may face such as culture clash, or potential xenophobia. Yet, even with odds against them, we’ve seen British South Asians not only integrate but thrive.”
