Judges help Asian Stars in UK Tech reach new heights

Women smash through to the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2021 list

A stellar panel of judges has helped the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2021 list, which showcases one hundred of the most inspirational Asian men and women working in Britain’s tech sector, reach new heights. For the first time ever, women have topped the list, accounting for 52% of shortlisted nominees. The representation of women has risen from 21% in 2015 up to 52% in 2021 across all categories despite the fact that women have been historically under-represented, accounting for only 22%* of Director roles across the tech sector.

Lopa Patel MBE, list curator and Chair of Diversity UK said: “It took me by surprise that women accounted for more than half the shortlisted nominees in this year’s Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list as I was focussed on reaching as many more new nominees this year as we did last year. I am delighted that the list has marked its seventh anniversary with a stellar list of nominees, including another year with a record number of new nominees (60%). It is doubly pleasing that the judges were so skilled in showcasing all new nominees for all the Top 5 categories.”

All the nominees in the Top 5 categories are new to the list

The second milestone achieved was that all the nominees selected in the Top 5 categories of Business, GreenTech, HealthTech, Investors and Startups were new to the list this year. HealthTech and GreenTech were well represented in the list again this year with many entrepreneurs focussing their attention on helping to launch platforms and applications for the physical and mental wellbeing of people. The GreenTech category showcases founders and technologists working at the forefront of energy, environmental and combating climate change solutions.

60% of nominees are new to the list

There is no shortage of talent: 60% of the people featured are new to the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2021 and at 52%, Asian women were well represented in all the Top 5 categories of Business, GreenTech, HealthTeach, Investors and Startups. Britain loves its tech entrepreneurs; 30% of the list is made up of Startup founders or co-founders and 22% are in the Business category with more established enterprises; 18% are Investors (including angel investors, incubators, private equity and venture capitalists); with the balance made up of Healthtech (14%) and Greentech (14%) entrepreneurs with creatives and technologists making up the balance.

Judges for the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2021

The task of selecting the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2021 and the Asian Tech Pioneers 2021 nominees was the toughest ever with a huge talent pool and a tight turnaround. It could only be undertaken with the help of this year’s stellar judges who pulled out all the stops in judging with skill and accuracy at great speed.

“We had a mixed judging panel of men and women; those who have judged for us before and newcomers. To avoid bias, judges made their own selections in their own time, so I am truly grateful to these amazing individuals who painstakingly made the task look easy. It is their skill, knowledge and experience of the sector that has made the difference. I congratulate all the nominees but also send my appreciation and applause to the judges”, added list curator Lopa Patel MBE, Chair of Diversity UK.

Judges for the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2021 included Naheed Afzal, Co-Founder & CEO, Contracts IT; Janet Coyle, Managing Director Business Growth, London & Partners; Harry Rhys Davies, Chief of Staff, Grey Parrot; Alpesh Doshi, Founder & CEO, Fintricity; Debbie Forster MBE, CEO, Tech Talent Charter; Faisal Galaria, CEO, Blippar; Priya Guha MBE, Venture Partner, Merian Ventures UK; Volker Hirsch, Partner, Amadeus Capital Partners; Hanadi Jabado, Managing Director, CMS Ventures; Gurpreet Manku, Deputy Director General & Director of Policy, BVCA; Neeta Patel CBE, CEO, Centre for Entrepreneurs; Ash (Ashish) Puri, Investor, Lightrock; Matt Smith, Director, Centre for Entrepreneurs; Nick Travis, Head of Entrepreneurs, Smith & Williamson and Guy Weaver, Director, Praetura Ventures.