BME Business Awards celebrate charity excellence

Clem Turner, Veronica Akrofi, Beverley Uter, Lydia Forrester and Angelina Quamina MBE, from the Caribbean and African Community Health Support Forum, said the charity sees what needs doing, and gets on with it

A charity that supports Caribbean and African communities says receiving a business award shows "you can make a lot of noise quietly".

The Caribbean and African Community Health Support Forum was named Charity of the Year at the Suffolk BME Business Awards 2024.

It is the sixth year the awards have run, organised by BSC Multicultural Services and the University of Suffolk.

Clem Turner, chair of the forum, said: "We are absolutely over the moon. This has been 15 years of hard work, so hard work does pay off."

Co-host Roland Gilbertson was a previous winner in the 2022 awards

Winners in nine categories were revealed at a ceremony in the university's waterfront building in Ipswich, on Tuesday.

Roland Gilbertson hosted the night with former BBC presenter Mark Murphy, who is now the head of Cancer Support Suffolk.

Mr Gilbertson, who runs ThinkBiznes and won Business of the Year in 2022, said: "It's about celebrating excellence, diversity and community.

"You hear inspiring stories and network with entrepreneurs."

Sickle Cell Suffolk have hoodies with QR codes which link to the NHS blood donation register

The award for Health Champion of the Year went to Sickle Cell Suffolk, which was established in 2014 to promote awareness of sickle cell disorder (SCD) in the Black and ethnic minority communities in Suffolk.

Elaine Tappin is the group's co-ordinator and has SCD herself.

"We also raise awareness of the need for blood donation," she said.

"Anyone can need blood at any time, but for sickle cell it can be a regular form of treatment for us, so it's always better to have ethnically matched blood."

The 2024 Winners

• Business of the Year: ADCO Construction

• Business of the Year (Catering): Chequers Indian Lounge

• Business Person of the Year: Jetnor Brati (Lucky's Café)

• Start-Up or New Business of the Year: GoCo Ltd

• Community Business of the Year: Ipswich Karate Academy

• Female Entrepreneur of the Year: Lydia Yuk Kiu Tse MBE

• Charity of the Year: Caribbean & African Community Health Support Forum

• Health Champion of the Year: Sickle Cell Suffolk

• Judges Special Award: Gambian Welfare Association of Suffolk & Norfolk