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South Asians in the UK today occupy leadership positions across a range of fields, including politics, business and civil society. The annual Asian Achievers Awards that EPG runs, recognise the outstanding work of such individuals within the South Asian community.
Established in 2000 and held annually since then, the next edition of the Awards will take place on Friday 15 September 2023. We are consistently recognised by the community as the most prestigious and highly respected such Awards in the calendar. We expect more than 700 attendees on the night, including Cabinet Ministers, HNIs, influencers and leaders from business, tech and elsewhere.
You can find more details here: asianachieversawards.com.
Last year’s Asian Achievers Awards paid tribute to Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II at the annual ceremony. Dame Arlene Foster DBE PC, Former First Minister of Northern Ireland, led the tribute with a one-minute silence to inaugurate the ceremony.
The evening was hosted by actor, Nitin Ganatra OBE, and entrepreneur, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker, Deana Uppal, and welcomed a guest list of celebrities, public figures, VIP’s and dignitaries including Love Island contestant, Priya Gopaldas; TOWIE stars, Dani Imbert and Junaid Ahmed; comedian, Tez Ilyas (Man Like Mobeen); actors, Raj Ghatak, Nisha Aaliya and Yanick Ghanty; music artists, Bambi Bains, Rumer and H Dhami; Premier League presenter, Manish Bhasin; former Miss England, Hammasa Kohistani; Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor for Business London; Dr Kartar Lalvani OBE, Founder and Chairman, Vitabiotics; Subaskaran Allirajah, Founder and Chairman, Lyca; Head Teacher, Katherine Birbalsingh; businesswoman, Sheetal Mafatlal; and lead researcher for the COVID vaccine, Maheshi Ramasamy, Oxford Vaccine Group.
Across ten categories including Art & Culture; Business Person of the Year; Entrepreneur of the Year; and Community Service, Asian Achievers Awards received more than 500 nominations, from which the judges shortlisted four per category, evenly divided between male and female candidates.
This year’s judging panel was reflective of the diversity and experience of the nominations received. It included Former Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Bas Javid; Former President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr Mayur Lakhani CBE; COO of Monzo Bank, Sujata Bhatia; music producer, Bally Sagoo; Welsh Assembly Member, Natasha Asghar; and Artistic Director of Darbar Festival, Sandeep Virdee OBE.
While Rt Hon Suella Braverman KC MP was unable to attend on the night to pick up her Queen Elizabeth II Woman of the Year Award, her parents, Uma and Christie Fernandes, collected it on her behalf, and in a video message of acknowledgement she said, “A huge thank you to the Asian Achievers Awards for awarding me the prize of Woman of the Year. I first of all want to pay tribute to the phenomenal and inspirational women who joined me in this category for the shortlist. They are all role models to thousands of girls in our own country and also around the world.
My mum and dad came to this country from Kenya and Mauritius in the 1960s. They’ve been proud members of our Asian community and I was born in Wembley, the heart of the Asian community, and to be elected to serve in the UK Parliament and now to serve our phenomenal and amazing and welcoming country as Home Secretary is the honour of my life. I hope to do you proud.”
The awards ceremony was interspersed with live performances on the night including Brit Award-nominee, Rumer; cellist and pianist, Alison Gabrielle; and star of TV’s Man Like Mobeen, stand-up comedian Tez Ilyas; with Lord Jeffrey Archer conducting the charity auction in support of the chosen Charity Partner, Pardada Pardadi.
Link to further photos on our Facebook page and full details of the Winners can be found on the Asian Achievers Awards website.
