Winning a prestigious award is no mean feat in itself, but UKBCCI Director Farzana Hossain Neela went further by being awarded by Prime Minister David Cameron at the recent British Bangladeshi Business Awards 2015.

The category awarded was the highly coveted Best Business Woman Entrepreneur

In front of an array of the crème de la crème of the British Bangladeshi business community, Neela, who is the Managing Director of Neela’s Home Ltd, which successfully imports spices into the UK from Bangladesh, was handed the award by the Prime Minister, who then proceeded to speak to her on stage.

“The funny thing is,” said Neela, “I was originally told that it would be the Deputy Prime Minister who would be presenting me the award. But when I realised it was the Prime Minister himself, I immediately started shaking because I never could have imagined I would be presented such an award by the top man in the country. It was the best gift of my life!”

Neela added: “Mr Cameron asked me how many employees I had and a few other quick questions as I received the award.  It’s such a lovely validation of my business I feel and what it does is that it also makes me want to go further and keep on improving and expanding my business.”

A highly experienced and renowned restaurateur and entrepreneur, UKBCCI Director Oli Khan, has been awarded a major award in the Curry Life Awards, scooping the best achiever in business and community relations.

Khan, who is the managing director of such successful outlets as the Surma Takeaway and the Spice Rouge restaurant in Stevenage Old Town, said he was elated beyond words and took the award win as an “endorsement of his restaurant and his business acumen”.

He added: “Winning the award means a lot to me. I’ve been in the business for 26 years and getting any kind of accolade is not only very encouraging, but it says that the public are recognising you for all the hard work you have done. “

With his parents having been in the restaurant sector since 1962, Khan branched out on his own at the tender age of 17, but it wasn’t till 2002 when he launched Surma that he truly found success, which continues to this day.

“I realised a long time ago,” says Khan, “that despite trying to succeed early on, you don’t become a hit overnight. You have to slog it out and if you don’t make a go of it the first time, keep on trying. Be honest, be single-minded, constructive and passionate, and you’ll go far!”