Offa Chairman receives prestigious leadership award

Sultan Choudhury OBE, Executive Chairman of Offa, the UK’s first Sharia-compliant bridge finance provider, has been honoured with the Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad Leadership Award at this year’s Islam Channel Business Awards in recognition of his outstanding achievements in business and dedication to helping others achieve success. 

Now in its third year, the highly respected awards ceremony was attended by more than 1,000 distinguished guests at the Hilton London Metropole last week [19 April] – including business leaders, MPs and ambassadors – to recognise the accomplishments of British Muslim entrepreneurs and serve as inspiration for future generations to excel in the business world.

Sultan and his colleague Sagheer Malik (pictured below), Offa’s Chief Commercial Officer, sat as part of a panel of 14 judges to select this year’s winners, with more than 100 exceptional businesses shortlisted for the awards across 21 different categories. They were judges for the Businesswoman of the Year (Sumayah Saadi, CEO of Sumayah), Fashion Business of the Year (Aab) and Large Business of the Year Award (Euro Foods Group). Offa’s CCO Sagheer Malik also presented Euro Foods Group the coveted award at the ceremony and congratulated them for their amazing achievement.

The event was attended by a dazzling array of special guests including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey, and dignitaries and ambassadors including His Excellency Husam Zomlot, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK.

Sultan received one of the major prizes of the night, the Tun Dr Mahathir Bin Mohamad Leadership Award 2024, in recognition of being “a leader providing guidance and support to British Muslims, whilst also developing innovative approaches to business”. 

The award was presented to Sultan (top) by former finance minister Sir Stephen Timms MP and Adi Affendi Abdul Halim, Minister (Political) at the Malaysian Embassy in London. The leadership award is named after the longest serving Prime Minister of Malaysia, who inspired millions by transforming the country’s economy whilst also championing education and the elimination of poverty.

Reflecting on his career during his acceptance speech, Sultan said he had always been involved in charity and urged the award winners to “give back, as part of the leadership values adopted by Muslims”.

Sultan added: “You are rewarded immensely for the time you give by seeing the achievements of others. It is important for Muslim entrepreneurs to combine their enthusiasm and innovation with the experience of mentors and truly benefit through this wise path. I am honoured to have received this award and hope it serves to inspire and motivate future generations of budding entrepreneurs across the country.”

Mohamed Harrath, CEO of Islam Channel, highlighted how Muslim Business leaders “play a vital role in strengthening our community, not only through the products and services you offer, but also by creating jobs and creating wealth”. 

There are more than four million Muslims in the UK (6.5% of the population), who annually contribute over £31 billion to the UK economy and have a spending power of some £20 billion. The community is also among the most generous when it comes to charity, donating four times as much as the average Brit by giving an estimated £500 million a year to good causes. The UK is also the largest centre for Islamic Finance outside of the Muslim world, part of a sector that is globally worth $2.4 trillion. 

Find out more about the full list of awards and all the winners by visiting the Islam Channel Business Awards website.