Durban – After two long years the Minara Chamber of Commerce awards will finally take place in Durban on 28 October. The business awards ceremony will be taking place for the first time at Coastlands, Musgrave, moving from its usual location, the NMJ hall.
The awards ceremony was moved to Coastlands new hall as organisers aim to welcome back awardees and patrons in a spectacular fashion, said Razak Jooma, Minara Secretary General for Minara Chamber of Commerce. It will be an evening like no other.
“We’re really pulling all stops here to make sure that we’re going to give our awardees firstly, and also our patrons and well wishers, a bumper event on the 28th of October. We’ve now gone to the Coastlands in Musgrave with their new venue and the sound and it’s too beautiful. There’s a view and I think our people who attend will be most delighted with the new setup. We’ve changed a few things around and I think we are going to have a very successful event .”
Narrowing the list
The initial list had around forty nominees. From these forty, the independent adjudication panel had to narrow it down to three finalists per category. A task that was not easy as the panel was extremely impressed with the calibre of nominees.
“Initially we had something in the region of about 40 [nominees]. That goes to the panel of judges which are independent. They sit outside our offices, and they have their own meetings. They are given the information, the profiles of each nominee and they look at it. Up till today we do not know who the winners are and only the appointed agent in that panel will walk up to that stage and announce the winner. We are now down to 19 individuals who are in different categories.”
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The finalists for each category of the Minara Business Awards
After a long and tough process, the finalists for each category have been announced.
The Business Entity of the Year finalists are Plastimed Liquid Packaging, Natak Box Factory and Regent Business School.
The Businessperson of the Year finalists are Hanif Salat of Elegant Line Trading t/a Chopper Chimney, Sabah Collection and Chill-Zone, Mohammed Amra, Pam Golding Franchise owner, and Yusuf Bux, Director of Multiwood Furniture and Appliance.
The shortlist for the Businesswoman of the Year finalists are Mariam Cassim Tayob, Zahira Kara Sulaiman and Rooksana Moodan.
The Professional of the Year finalists are Author Fiona Khan, Dr Shabnam Abdoola and Invest SA CEO, Yunus Hoosen.
The Young Entrepreneur finalists are Talha Motala, Spirit Wood Investment, Moosa Bux, Founder of Pedros and Yusuf Arbee of IV Wellness Institute.
There is also a specific category called the Community Builders. This category is dedicated to individuals who lead the community and successfully carried out their responsibilities of donor contributions and at the same time assist South Africans at the time of emergency and need, such as during the July unrest.
These four individuals are Azhar Vadi of Salaam Foundation, Yaslera Mahomed Suliman of Caring Sisters Network, Ahmed Paruk who is a community activist who contributes to the Burial and community development in various aspects and Ashref Ismail, the CEO of Fleetmax Africa.
The winners will be announced at the upcoming awards ceremony which will be attended by some of South Africa’s leading personalities from the business and private sector. This year’s keynote address will be delivered by Zunaid Bulbulia, Group Executive of Morvest Group and a special address will also be delivered by Honourable Premier of KZN, Ms Nomusa Ncube-Dube.
