Asian businesses are ‘alive and kicking’

They were made during the ABCC’s online annual meeting today at which it was also announced that Dr Jason Wouhra, chief executive of Lioncroft Wholesale, would go on to his second year of presidency.

In his address, he reflected on his experience as president during the pandemic and commended the resilience and bond between businesses throughout that time.

He also expressed his optimism and declared that the chamber is ‘alive and kicking’ with new ideas for the upcoming year.

Dr Wouhra said: “I am proud to be continuing into my second term as president of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce after what has been an incredibly difficult couple of years for the Asian business community. The ABCC comes into the term with more confidence than ever that we are best placed to represent the needs and be the voice of Asian business.

“Our new team has a broad range of experience in many sectors from business and entrepreneurship to professional services, sport and education. We are best placed to give vitality and even more influence to the ABCC and we aim to grow our organisation to reflect its 34-year heritage in supporting our community. I look forward to the coming year and contributing to the growth of the ABCC.”

Stepping down from the executive committee this year are Dr Nasir Awan, Dal Darroch, Sally Walder and Mani Hayre, who were thanked for their contribution, support, and passion over the past few years.

Reselected for the committee were Aftab Chughtai, Fajli Bibi, Neelam Afzal, Pam Sheemar, Ravinder Masih, Sajid Gulzar OBE and Shani Dhanda, in addition to newcomers Amer Awan and Sapreena Kumari.

Amina Hussain and Omar Rashid were also congratulated for their election as ABCC vice-presidents.

Amina Hussain is the director and founder of SME Outsourcing, a firm providing a range of accountancy services to SMEs, as well as a multi award winning accountant specialising in forensic and practice accounting.

In addition to running her accountancy firm, she is currently setting up an accounting academy in Birmingham to support younger people in the region and provide them with the accounting skills needed within the financial sector.

She has over 24 years’ experience in accounting and finance, previously worked for KPMG in its corporate restructuring department for eight years.

For the past 24 months, Amina has focused on supporting local businesses with Covid-19 financial support which, in turn, has aided the firm’s expansion and enabled them to relocate to larger premises in the heart of Edgbaston, Birmingham.

As vice-president of the ABCC, Amina intends to bring more businesses and communities together and help them thrive and elevate.

She said: “I am super thankful to be elected as the vice-president of the Asian Business Chambers of Commerce. With my 24 years of accounting, finance and business advisory experience, I am able to support businesses through this organisation, in order to help, connect, develop and support businesses locally and internationally.”

Smethwick-born Omar Rashid originally wanted to be a cricketer but went on to Coventry University to be an accountant, then leaving with a Masters in HR Management.

He started his HR career with a local authority before working for the NHS for eight years. He then moved into contracting roles in various sectors before starting his own business with the HR Dept franchise in January 2018.

Omar expanded his franchise by purchasing further territories in September 2021 and now employs three members of staff. He co-hosts a business networking event at Everyman Cinema called The Breakfast Club and is a Radio Presenter on Unity FM with a show called The Business Hour. He is also a mentor to businesses as part of the NatWest Accelerator programme.

Omar won outstanding start-up business at the ABCC Awards in November 2018 and has been an executive board member of the ABCC since April 2019.

On his appointment as vice-president, he said: “Alhamdulliah (All praise to God), I am extremely honoured and proud to be vice-president of the ABCC. I thank the board members who put their trust in me. I am passionate about the ABCC and what it stands for and hope to champion the voice of Asian businesses in the coming year.”