Nominations for Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list extended until 15th April 2018

The nominations deadline for the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list this year has been extended until 15th April 2018 to allow more applicants from the creative industries and regions to be put forward, despite hundreds of nominations having already been received. “We have had a lot of requests this year to extend the deadline as a lot of people – specifically those in the marketing, advertising and data analytics industries and arts & culture sectors – were not aware that we have chosen the spotlight the creative industries this year. The two week extension will hopefully allow enough time for these individuals to nominate themselves or a colleague“, said list curator Lopa Patel MBE. The list, which is published by Diversity UK in association with the Ethnic Minority Foundation, KPMG and NewAsianPost, is now in its fourth year and celebrates the contribution made by British Asians to this country’s digital economy.

The aim is to showcase the wealth of talent on the British digital scene; from startup founders, creatives, social entrepreneurs, technologists, venture capital and angel investors to the policy makers and game changers. The key objective is to address the perceived lack of diversity in the tech sector by highlighting the business models, funding and support networks being created by these Asian digital entrepreneurs. Shortlisted list nominees make valuable connections at the launch event to help fund or scale their business; are recognised in industry publications and go on to win other competitions and awards. Each year, the Chair of the judging panel also recognises an individual with the coveted Chairman’s Award which is presented at the launch event in June.

Previous Chairman’s Award winners include surgeon and VR evangelist Professor Shafi Ahmed (pictured above) who was honoured with the Chairman’s Award in 2017; Shankar Narayanan, Head of UK & Ireland for Tata Consultancy Services received the award in 2016 and Dinesh Dhamija, Chairman of Copper Beech Group and previously Founder of ebookers who was recognised in 2015.

Spotlight on the Creative Industries

The list also highlights the Top 5 individuals in five categories, which have previously included business, edtech, fintech, investors, social entrepreneurs, startups and women. This year, the spotlight is on the creative industries which contribute £92bn to the UK economy, according to the figures published by the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS). Growing at twice the rate of the economy, the sector which includes advertising and marketing, arts, film, TV and radio, museums, galleries and gaming, makes up more than five per cent of the UK economy’s GVA.

Top 5 Categories

The Top 5 categories for 2018 are Top 5 Investors (including accelerator, incubator, angel investors, private equity, venture capital etc); Top 5 in Business (incl. B2B, B2C, edtech, fintech, healthtech, insuretech, proptech, retailtech etc); Top 5 in Creative Industries (incl. entertainment, gaming, marketing, advertising etc); Top 5 StartUps (entrepreneurs who have set up in the past 5 years or so) and Top 5 Women.

Eligibility Criteria

For inclusion in the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list, individuals must comply with eligibility criteria, the full details of which are available here.