At a sumptuous gala dinner, six extraordinary South Africans, from various sectors of business and society, received awards for their dedication, hard work and success in commerce, industry and professional sectors at the prestigious Minara Chamber of Commerce Business Awards held at the NMJ Hall in Durban on the 2nd November 2018.

The ceremony saw the presence of many dignitaries and notables including keynote speaker, Mufti Yusuf Suliman, Head of Shari’ah for Standard Bank, KZN MEC for Public Works Ravi Pillay, eThekwini Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer, members of Ulema bodies, sponsors, and more than 500 guests from across the social spectrum.

The Awards Gala Dinner was the culmination of the public nomination in each of the categories with three finalists selected in each category and the winners announced at the Gala Dinner.

Incoming President of the Chamber, Solly Suleman said, “All the nominees were winners as they all possessed exceptional skills and talent and had contributed to the progress of our country. The committee had great difficulty and choosing the winners.”

The Minara Business Awards recognise and highlight the success and the contributions that the community makes to all parts of society. It serves to not just showcase but to inspire others to achieve excellence as well.
The winners from the various categories are:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr A.V. Mahomed has been involved in community and charity work since December 1963. He is a life trustee of the Jumma Masjid, Vice Chairman of the Islamic Burial Council, former president of the Natal Memon Jamaat, member of the Executive Committee of the KZN Interfaith Religious Council and Financial Director of the 1860 Heritage Centre.

Business Entity: Capital Home Care Group – the sole importer and distributor to the wholesale industry. The group is involved in many successful community social programmes in South Africa.

Businessperson: Mr Ahmed Mahomed – CEO of Datacentrix- with a wealth of experience at senior management level at several established companies, he is presently CEO of Datacentrix with a revenue of over R3 billion and a staff complement of 1500 skilled employees.

Businesswoman: Ms Dimpho Aishah Majogo – founder of Nyota Clothing – the online fashion store founder caters for the modest woman offering a delightful and relaxing shopping experience with an African flavour.

Young Entrepreneur: Dr Najma Mahomed – Environmental Scientist – an Environmental Scientist who has just acquired her PhD. She is currently the Programme Officer: Green Jobs, International Training Centre of the ILO Turin, Italy.

Professional Achiever: Ms Zainab Paruk – chef and founding member of Chili Chocolate Chefs – specialising in Halaal gourmet catering with 20 years of experience under her belt including stints at leading food establishments like Fashion TV.

Community Builder: Sheikh Salaam Banda – Islamic Scholar and Project Co-ordinator of WAMY – Sheikh Banda moved to South Africa in 1999 and joined WAMY in 2002 as the Project Co-ordinator championing the opening of madrassahs in Umlazi and after school madrassahs within primary and high schools in Umlazi.

Dr A.V. Mahomed ended his speech by making an appeal to all citizens of South Africa to ensure that we choose humanity first to bring peace to the people of our country and the world at large.

ANNISA ESSACK