Leeds professionals short-listed in this year's Black British Business Awards

The finalists of the 2021 Black British Business Awards (BBBAwards) were announced this morning (Wednesday) with 39 making the short list including two business duos from Leeds

Edgar Chibaka and Jamal Tahlil, co-founders and directors at First Response Group Ltd and Dr Opemiposi Adegbulu and Taiwo Adegbulu, co-founders at Omolola Jewellery have been selected for their professional achievements and also the personal work they are doing to defy stereotypes and reshape the business world around them.

The two sisters, who started Omolola Jewellery in 2018, are short-listed in the category for Entrepreneur Rising Star while Mr Chibaka and Mr Tahlil are named in the category for Entrepreneur senior leader of the year.

Omolola Jewellery is a range that has been created out of West African influences and the magic of places such as Lagos, Abidjan, Banjul, Porto Novo and Praia.

First Response Group is a total security, fire and facility management solutions company which began in 2007. It is based in Sheepscar but operates across the UK.

Winners for each category, as well as the Black British Business Person of the Year, will be revealed at the Black British Business Awards Virtual Ceremony taking place on October 7 later this year.

The theme of this year's award ceremony is ‘Amplify’ following a turbulent eighteen months of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s disproportionate impact on black communities, the revival of the Black Lives Matter movement and the recent racist incidents that surfaced after the Euros football final.

The awards aims to stand together to celebrate the economic and cultural contributions black people make to the UK economy and give a platform to black voices, careers and stories from a range of industries.

Sophie Chandauka, executive founder and chair of the Black British Business Awards said: “After an extraordinarily challenging year, I am thrilled that for the eighth year running we are highlighting the resilience and abundance of brilliant, black talent in Britain.

"Our finalists have delivered tremendous commercial value across sectors in volatile markets where entrepreneurs, in particular, have been decimated. They have been strategic advisors to their companies and boards as global corporations are challenged by investors to address systemic racism.

"Despite the pandemic and social unrest, they are fiercely competitive and remarkably ambitious, creative and commercially savvy, leveraging technology as their differentiator. They are global in their outlook and ambition and represent the very best of being British in a post-pandemic, post-Brexit Europe.”