On the 30^th October 2009 IslamicFinance hosted the 4^th IslamicFinance Business Awards at the Wanders Club in Gauteng. The Minara Chamber of Commerce was honoured to once again be part of this prestigious event.

Six inspirational role models and successful business owners have been recognised at the 4^th IslamicFinance Business Awards which celebrate the contribution Muslim businesses make to the development of the South African economy and the upliftment of diverse communities.

The Minara Chamber of Commerce congratulates the winners in each category.

1. Business Person of the Year

Mr Asgar Mahomed from Esquire Technologies (Pty) Ltd won the prestigious award for the 2009 Business Person of the Year.  This is the first year that this award has been presented to such a young pioneering business person.

Chairman of the Judging Panel and CEO of KPMG, Yunus Suleman, said: “This year we chose a winner who we believe is already a role model for others to emulate and has set a new benchmark for the competitive IT industry in which he is a market leader. The award is presented to Asgar Mohamed in recognition of the innovative marketing strategy he has developed, retailing IT consumables to wholesalers, for the substantial impact his company has made on the broader business landscape and for being the first company ever to conclude a contract with FIFA to brand IT accessories for the 2010 World Cup. Besides his unprecedented business success, he is committed to mentoring young people and emerging entrepreneurs and has continued to support small companies which were central to the initial success of his fledgling business.”

IslamicFinance is confident that Asgar will encourage others to aspire to achieve his level of success and is proud of the contribution he has made to creating employment, developing world class systems and setting exceptional service standards in his industry sector.

2.    Young Entrepreneur of the Year

This year, IslamicFinance introduced a new category exclusively for young entrepreneurs to acknowledge the role the younger generation is making in successful businesses.  The inaugural winner of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award is Mr Suliman Paruk from Tans-Africa Holdings (Pty) Ltd, one of the largest privately owned bus companies in the country.

Suliman heads up Tans-Africa’s Kwa-Zulu Natal operation, winning major tenders against fierce competition.  With legendary integrity, his strength lies in financial management and he has introduced sound corporate governance principles and innovative strategies to ensure the business remains the market leader.

3.    Business Entity of the Year "Large"

Pharmachem Pharmaceuticals was the winner in the category Large Business Entity of the Year. The award was presented to them in recognition of the substantial growth they have achieved in a highly regulated sector. The founders Mr Imtiaz (Immy) Mohamed and Mr Bashir Carrim have developed the business into a world class concern which has been approached by listed companies to distribute their products. Despite numerous challenges and the introduction of single price fixing in 2003, they did not retrench any staff, believing that their business would weather the storm and grow again.

4. Business Entity of the Year "Medium"

The winner of the 2009 Medium Business Entity Award is Darsot Food Corporation. This company has also won another prestigious award this year - the International Gold Star Award for the Best Quality product, beating178 other countries. When founder Mr Ismail Darsot returned from exile in 1993, his vision was to manufacture a range of exceptional quality canned products at an affordable price. He has created an extremely successful enterprise in a sector dominated by major multi-nationals, developing the Dürsot range into a respected household name.

5. Business Entity of the Year "Small"

Amina’s Wonder Spice won the award in the 2009 Small Business Entity of the Year category. This company started with R375.00 in a one-bedroomed flat with a secret recipe for a marinade. Since 1999 the husband and wife team of Amina and Adbul Gani Rahman have developed their product offering into a range of ready to mix, ready to use pastes which they distribute nationally to a niche market.

6. Corporate Social Investment

In the category, Corporate Social Investment of the Year, the winner was Madrassa An-Noor for the Blind which offers partially sighted people an Islamic education as well as access to a range of Islamic literature which they publish in-house in Braille.

Moulana Hassan Murchie says that their key focus is to ensure that students are qualified and are accepted into society to lead a normal life.  The school runs a Teach the Teacher initiative which offers support to teachers internationally. Their mission is to spread the light of Islam to every blind person around the world whether they are living on the mountains or on the sea shore.

We look forward to the 5^th annual Business Awards in 2010 which will showcase another selection of inspirational business leaders and organisations.

The independent panel of judges encourages everyone in the community to start thinking about businesses or innovative entrepreneurs for nomination next year.