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Diversity game-changers MSDUK announce Awards Finalists

The 18 finalists for the MSDUK Awards have been announced. From one of the largest consulting firms in the world to start-up entrepreneurs, the MSDUK Awards champion those businesses working hard to make supply chains both inclusive and competitive.

Some of the largest and most influential purchasing organisations in the UK, both public and private, will be recognised for their steadfast commitment to inclusive procurement and opening their supply chains. The doors they help open for small and minority-owned businesses and make a lasting impact on these growing businesses. Meanwhile, ethnic minority businesses across the UK will be recognised for innovation, growth and entrepreneurship.

Talking about being shortlisted as a finalist, Krystle Sands, Supplier Diversity Program Lead, EMEA, Meta said, “At Meta, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are top priorities for our business, and we take our dedication to diversity a step further. Our supplier diversity mission is to help diverse-owned companies do business with Meta, and with the people and communities that Meta connects. We work on building programs to support and expand the diversity of our suppliers and help other companies and organizations understand the impact of and grow their DEI efforts. Being selected as a finalist in the Emerging Corporate Supplier Diversity award is recognition of our team’s efforts to make an impact in the UK and around the globe.”

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones MBE, aka The Black Farmer, and a finalist said, “Young people in the UK from ethnic minorities often struggle to open the right doors. MSDUK is doing brilliant work to level the playing field in the UK and Europe and, for example, helping to guide young entrepreneurs and to understand how to work with large corporates. But also helps larger corporates develop their own diverse supply chains. This scheme is the first step in bringing much-needed change to improve diversity in supply chains.”

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones MBE, aka The Black Farmer, overcame many obstacles to realise his dream of owning a farm at the age of 40 and now wants young people from diverse backgrounds to consider farming as a career.

Sherry Vaswani, Group Chief Executive Officer, Xalient and finalist in three categories added, “MSDUK does a first-class job in shining a light on ethnic minority-led businesses that may have something unique to offer given their diversity – innovation for example.  Their work in helping open doors for young entrepreneurs and guiding them on how to succeed with large corporates is much needed and brings a whole new approach to improving the diversity in supply chains.”

Mayank Shah, Founder & CEO of Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK), looks back on the progression of MSDUK over the last 16 years and says,

“It’s great to see how far we have progressed and even more so to see how supplier diversity has now taken centre stage in corporate procurement strategies 2022 has seen over 100 global and British companies join MSDUK and opening up business opportunities for ethnic minority businesses. Supplier diversity programmes help address the issue of economic inequality and encourage entrepreneurship in under-represented communities.”

The winner of each award category will be announced at the prestigious MSDUK Business Awards ceremony on the second day of the MSDUK Conference, taking place in London on 8th September 2022. To buy tickets https://www.msdukconference.co.uk/

James Lloyd, Procurement Director, CBRE and finalist in the established corporate supplier diversity programme category said, “At CBRE, we build and maintain strong, diverse supplier relationships for an equitable and inclusive supply chain. These relationships are important in creating winning outcomes for our clients, employees and shareholders. Furthermore, engaging with diverse partners supports businesses in our community and strengthens our equitable and inclusive supply chain. We are very proud to be selected as a finalist in the Established Corporate Supplier Diversity category of the MSDUK Awards. It is a wonderful recognition for our team and the partners we work with up and down the supply chain to deliver these outcomes.”

Meet the finalists

You can find out more about the awards and MSDUK at https://www.msduk.org.uk/news/finalists-announced-msduk-awards-2022

Entrepreneur of the year

The Black Farmer, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones Xalient Holdings Ltd, Sherry Vaswani

ISA Support Services Ltd, Sunny Araf             The Glass Company Ltd, Sanmukh Bawa

 Business Woman of the Year

Creative Nature, Julianne Ponan        Xalient Holdings Ltd, Sherry Vaswani

Nistad Limited, Ada JabaruBrand       Xposure UK Ltd T/A BX Merchandise, Sarah Sayed

High Growth Business of the Year

Xalient Holdings Ltd, Sherry Vaswani                         BAP Pharma Ltd, Daniel De Brett

ZR Consultants Ltd (ZRC), Zeshan Raja

Excellence in Emerging Corporate Supplier Diversity Programme

Meta Platforms (Previously known as Facebook)      Unilever UK Ltd

Diageo

Excellence in Established Corporate Supplier Diversity Programme

CBRE                                                   EY

Accenture                                            Cummins Ltd

MSDUK is proud to champion the best of British EMBs and work with progressive global corporations that understand the value of supply chain inclusion and diversity.

The largest Supplier Diversity Conference in the UK & Europe showcases the best of Supplier Diversity Programmes and Ethnic Minority Businesses.

MSDUK is proud to champion the best of British EMBs and work with progressive global corporations that understand the value of supply chain inclusion and diversity.

The largest Supplier Diversity Conference in the UK & Europe showcases the best of Supplier Diversity Programmes and Ethnic Minority Businesses.

Awards, News

Calling all BAME start-ups and entrepreneurs – ‘National Innovation Challenge’ offers £150k in prizes for ‘Better ideas for a better world’.

INNOVATIVE businesses from Ethnic Minority backgrounds have the chance to present their big ideas in front of global brands and investors through the Innovation Challenge in its fifth edition, which aims to help promote fairness and diversity to level up the corporate playing field.

In this year’s Innovation Challenge ‘Better Ideas for a Better World’ (aligned to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), BAME start-ups and entrepreneurs will compete for prizes worth over £150k.  The Innovation Challenge aims to spotlight the best innovators across a wide range of sectors and technologies, including AI & Machine Learning, Sustainable Cities and Consumer Health.

Describing his goal for the theme of this year’s Innovation Challenge, MSDUK Founder Mayank Shah said: “We recognise that the last 18 months have been very challenging for businesses, and the innovation challenge is a positive step on the ladder to back to business.  We are setting the bar for this year’s entrants very high because we believe that only through greater supplier diversity can our global partners find innovative solutions to the problems of tomorrow.”

Now in its fifth year, the Innovation Challenge was set up by MSDUK as part of its year-round programme of initiatives designed to fight the underrepresentation of BAME businesses in the global supply chain. Through this challenge, MSDUK breaks down barriers to entry for young start-ups, entrepreneurs and high-growth EMBs from all sectors by providing direct access to a range of highly influential corporate sponsors. Committed to investing in a diverse supply chain, the headline sponsor is Accenture, and other sponsors include GSK, Digital Catapult, Cummins and EY. The prizes are cash injections for the winning idea, business scholarships, and mentoring, which will give the finalists the boost they need to develop their big ideas into successful businesses.

“Like every other business entrepreneur in the 21st Century, the EMBs that succeed will be those that bring about social change through innovative ideas and technologies. After last year’s truly inspiring array of ideas, I am excited to see what the current crop of EMB social entrepreneurs can bring to the table.”

Full details of the challenge, including an entry form, can be found here https://bit.ly/InnovationChallenge-2021

The deadline for entries is 31st June 2021. The finalists chosen by the judges will take part in a live pitching final, to be held in London on the 2nd September 2021.