[RE-CAP] The Precious Awards 2011

October 27th saw myself and other finalists and friends gather at the decadent Renaissance Hotel for the 2011 Precious Awards. I wouldn’t be the last person to make the comment but it felt great being amongst other women of colour who were there to win awards.

This was the second year that the Lifestyle category had been added to the awards show and I was a finalist with The Musings of Ondo Lady and also Afro Boudoir (who I had the pleasure of chatting to after the award show). Having won at the Black Weblog Awards, the idea of coming home with another accolade had me so excited… I didn’t walk away with the award but it went to The Musings of Ondo Lady who I’ve had the pleasure of featuring on thenublack.

The keynote speaker India Gary-Martin who is Managing Director -Technology and Operations at JP Morgan spoke words of wisdom as did many of the other winners at the award show. The thing I liked most was the stories behind the companies that had won. From the shooting of a child, to a mother suffering from cancer and even not being able to find the right skin tone underwear for ones daughter were just some of the reasons why the winners at the Precious Awards had decided to go into business.

One of the most touching moments of the day was when a woman from Body & Soul spoke about her life to date living with HIV and how through her life she was able to help others come to terms with living with the illness.

The affair was elegant and everyone who attended whether they came home with a trophy or not felt like a true winner. A big thank you to Foluke Akinlose and her team for not only putting on the event again (it’s in its 6th year) but also for continuing to recognise the achievements of phenomenal women of colour in the UK.

Thanks again for all the support leading up to the awards and for everyone that voted 🙂

Below are a list of this year’s winners:

Start-Up Business of the Year
Sadia Sisay and Sumana Mukhopadhyay
BeingU

Social Enterprise Business of the Year
Rioch Edwards-Brown
So You Wanna Be On TV

Business of the Year
Lotwina Farrodaye
Be Fruity

Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Lauren Craig
Thinking Flowers

Entrepreneur of the Year
Sadia Sisay and Sumana Mukhopadhyay
BeingU

The PRECIOUS Man of the Year
Chuka Umunna

Mentor of the Year
Professor Laura Serrant-Green

Inspiring Leadership within the Workplace
Ronke Lawal – Chief Executive Islington Chamber of Commerce

The PRECIOUS Hair Brand of the Year
Mizani

The PRECIOUS Digital Romance Award
iPad2

Hidden Gem Award
Camille Johnson
Pink Ribbon Lingerie

via The Musings of Ondo Lady