Global markets seem to be living in the age of anxiety. Continuing uncertainty around Brexit, on-going trade war and the threat of economies slipping into recession have painted a rather gloomy financial picture. Yet, on Friday, 1st November, The Landmark London buzzed with the synergy of London's entrepreneurial spirit at the annual TiE London Awards.
Sunil Chandra, plugging the mid-market gaps
Organised by TiE London President Nina Amin MBE, the evening saw young tech turks networking with potential investors besides eminent dignitaries of the diaspora. Members included Lord Jitesh Gadhia, Lord Rami Ranger, G P Hinduja and Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London for Business among others.
Perhaps, the illustrious evening's highlight was the keynote speech delivered by Sunil Chandra, recently appointed CEO of OakNorth. Chandra who is the former Vice President of Google expressed his “confidence” in London's “thriving start-up and FinTech market”. He said,
“Despite the gambles and uncertainties when you think about what is going to happen with Brexit, the US government, macro-economic environment, I have seen London thrive through all of this.
“The thesis behind the foundation of OakNorth is to facilitate those businesses that are neither too big nor too small but caught in the mid-market industry. The strategy is to figure out the application of all the institutional grade analysis from figuring out credit extensions to debt facilities. Today, UK is the third largest unicorn market following America and China and I believe that the FinTech market in London will continue to grow from strength to strength.”
Hosted by Guinness world record singer Navin Kundra, this event award-winners in categories ranging from entrepreneur to interpreneur of the year. Additionally, this year, two new categories were introduced- Technology Company of the Year and Social Entrepreneur of the Year.
Young Entrepreneur of the year
“It is a great honour to be recognised for my passion and work. I feel that Technology and Artificial Intelligence today are key drivers to addressing the major challenges that the global economy and environment face currently,” said Dr. Nikhil Shah, Dr. winner of the TiE London young entrepreneur of the year award.
In his academic degree at Imperial, the Co-founder of S-Cube had focussed on theoretical research around Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to the Energy Industry. Following his Doctorate, the technology he had deviced was made commercially viable such that it provides AI solutions to leading energy companies across the world including Chevron and ExxonMobil.S-Cube is a spinout company formed in 2015 to advance data-driven automated earth parameter learning from raw exploration seismic data. Shah's breakthrough theories on subsurface velocity have helped revolutionise global petroleum exploration these energy companies to identify profitable deep-sea oil fields.
Woman of the year
While Dr. Shah had been backed with venture capital funding, Joyeeta Das, who received the TiE London woman of the year award discusses the difficulty in finding the funds to continue the business. Gyana, a trillion dollar vision founded by Das is the world’s most comprehensive resource for how any company can leverage data science and AI with zero experience.
“Our whole purpose is to empowering common people with deep tech without learning how to code. But in the process, there have countless glass barriers right from funding to pitching to the right investors,” said Das.
Entrepreneur of the year
Alongside these young entrepreneurs was Mahiben Maruthappu, Co-Founder of CeraCare, who won the TiE London entrepreneur of the year award. Cera was launched in 2016 and has been transforming the face of home care ever since.
“My grandmother was my biggest inspiration behind building this company. She passed away a couple of years ago and received home care in her last stage. So, I would like to dedicate this award to her.
“Today, the home care industry is in a challenged position. Elderly increasingly need such services whereas there is a shortage of home care services and the only way to square that demand-supply shortage is through technology,” said Maruthappu.
Other winners included- Clove Dental, which received the award for the fastest growing business, whilst Yoti won the technology company of the year, Professor Charanjit Bountra, bagged the interpreneur of the year and Kush Kanodia, was awarded the social entrepreneur of the year.
Members of the independent jury included Lord Jitesh Gadhia, Priya Hiranandani-Vandrevala, Jean De Fougerolles, and Greg Norton Kodd. The event was accompanied with a gala dinner and light entertainment by Marc Paul.
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Winners of the TiE London Awards 2019
1. Social Entrepreneur of the year : Kush Kanodia, Co-founder of Choice International
2. Woman of the year : Joyeeta Das, Founder and CEO of Gyana
3. Young Entrepreneur of the year : Dr Nikhil Shah, Co-founder and CEO of S-CUBE
4. Interpreneur of the year : Professor Charanjit Bountra, Professor of Translational Medicine at the University of Oxford
5. Fastest Growing Business of the year : Clove Dental, Dental care services
6. Technology Company of the year : Yoti, Digital identity app
7. Entrepreneur of the year : Mahiben Maruthappu, Co-founder of Cera
