The fourth annual IslamicFinance Business Awards — which honour the role that Muslim businesses make to the development of the South African economy and the upliftment of diverse communities — were held on October 30.
The 2009 Business Person of the Year award was given to Asgar Mahomed, from Esquire Technologies, “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”.
A new award was introduced by IslamicFinance this year for young entrepreneurs. The winner of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award was Suliman Paruk, of Tans-Africa Holdings, one of the largest privately owned bus companies in the country.
According to IslamicFinance, Suliman heads up Tans-Africa’s KwaZulu-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.”
Other winners at this year’s awards were:
Pharmachem Pharmaceuticals was the winner in the category Large Business Entity of the Year.
The winner of the Medium Business Entity Award was Darsot Food Corporation.
The award for Small Business Entity of the Year went to Amina’s Wonder Spice.
In the category Corporate Social Investment of the Year, the award was given to 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.