The official list of the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2017 was launched on June 6th by Diversity UK in association with the Ethnic Minority Foundation (EMF), KPMG and NewAsianPost.com and hosted at the KPMG offices at 20 Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, London. HRH The Duke of York, who established the Pitch@Palace entrepreneurship competition to help tech businesses scale-up globally, presented the Chairman’s Award 2017 to Professor Shafi Ahmed who was recognised for his Outstanding Contribution to HealthTech.
Among those recognised in the Top 5 categories of Business, FinTech, Investors, StartUps and Women 2017 were William Shu of restaurant meal delivery service Deliveroo; Jack Tang, Co-Founder & CEO of Urban Massage; Anil Stocker of MarketInvoice, the world’s largest peer-to-peer online invoice finance marketplace and Vishal Gulati, HealthTech VC at Draper Esprit. The business sector showed considerable strength; 27% of the list being startup founders or co-founders and 36% in the business category; 21% are investors (incorporating angel investors, accelerators, incubators and venture capitalists); and the financial technology (FinTech) sector stormed in at 10% of nominees with the 6% balance made up of digital influencers and educational technology specialists.
HealthTec and CyberSecurity are sectors also showing considerable innovation in the application of technology – the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, Augmented & Virtual Reality (AR/VR), 3D Visualisation, Telemedicine and Genome Sequencing – have now all come out of the lab into the real world offering viable, sustainable, resilient and popular products and services for the health and wellbeing of consumers.
By highlighting the ground-breaking business models, apps, funding and support networks being created by Asian digital entrepreneurs, the list addresses the perceived lack of diversity in the tech sector and showcases the wealth of talent that is currently growing the British tech scene.
Bina Mehta, KPMG Partner leading engagement with next generation of Asians added : “The growth of the UK Tech sector has been the success story of the millennium with vibrant digital technology clusters across the UK creating jobs and contributing significantly to the economy. The tech sector in the UK stands heads and shoulders above other global ecosystems as being more ethnically diverse and it is important to celebrate this fact. KPMG is pleased to be supporting the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list for the third year. Innovation and diversity are a key elements of our work with the business community and it is important that we shine a spotlight on the achievements of Asian entrepreneurs and leaders in the tech sector and the vital job they do as role models to the younger generation in the UK.”
The Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list, NewAsianPost.com and Diversity UK are the brainchild of the digital entrepreneur Lopa Patel MBE who has long been recognised as an evangelist for STEM and the tech industries in the UK. Lopa promotes enterprise and skills development, is a prominent advocate for more diversity in the field and in 2015 was the first Asian woman to receive the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion.