THE SHORTLIST was announced yesterday (October 18) for this year’s Asian Business Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) annual dinner and awards ceremony.
The awards ceremony is set to take place on Saturday, 19 November, at The National Conference Centre in Solihull.
It will recognise and celebrate businesses and charities across nine categories. One of those category winners will then be crowned the overall Business of the Year.
The headline sponsors this year are Aston University, Doug Wright (T/A McDonalds) and Lioncroft.
The judging panel was chaired by Lillian Elekan, head of membership for the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC).
Other panellists include creative director of Squibble Ltd Kim Leary, Aston University’s first-ever executive director of business engagement Mark Smith, Visiting Professor for health, education and life science at Birmingham City University Martin Levermore MBE DL, MDTI, award-winning broadcaster of ITV News Suzanne Virdee and Vic Younis, a partner and head of dispute resolution at Wall James Chappell
Speaking about the judging process, Lillian Elekan (pictured) said: “The judges were faced with a difficult task of whittling down some truly outstanding entries for the ABCC awards.
“It was a privilege to read through all the applications alongside the judging panel, and the very high quality of entries highlights the calibre of businesses in the Greater Birmingham region. We can’t wait for all the shortlisted nominees to be able to come together and celebrate their achievements at the awards night.”
The shortlist for this year’s categories is as follows:
Outstanding Charity of the Year
- Molly Ollys
- Services for Education
- Suited for Success
- University Hospitals Birmingham Charity
Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Este Medical Group)
- Alison Delaney – Little Bird People Development
- Hasia Al Khubra – Dr Dose
- Kamran Saleem – Motorserv UK
- Mani Hayre – Mani’s Madness
Outstanding Finance Business of the Year (Sponsored by SME Outsourcing)
- FAZ Chartered Accountants
- Fraser Russell
- SF Chartered Certified Accountants
- Shakur Investments
Outstanding Hospitality Business of the Year (Sponsored by Lets Sanify)
- Alam Restaurant
- Hotel du Vin
- Hyatt Regency Birmingham
- Unique Venues Birmingham
Outstanding Legal Services Business of the Year
- Freeths LLP
- Kenneth Jones Solicitors
- Shakespeare Martineau
- Trowers & Hamlins LLP
Outstanding Small Business of the Year
- Gloss Ltd
- Innovation 4 Business
- Motorserv-UK
- Primo Dialler
Outstanding Start-Up Business of the Year (Sponsored by LIV24)
- Desicity
- Lets Sanify
- MakeMeFitClub
- Voilo
Outstanding Tech Business of the Year (Sponsored by South and City College Birmingham)
- Gloss Ltd
- Innovating Minds
- Primo Dialler
- Voilo
Outstanding Young Achiever of the Year (Sponsored by Staffordshire University)
- Ashik Mohammed Nazar – Arup
- Dr Lalitaa – Sphere Therapy Group / BluejayCare Ltd
- Gurdas Singh – WANAMA
- Kiranjit Kaur Shergill – Warwick University