Australia has a proud history of multiculturalism which has been built on the foundations laid by its migrant population, a fact which Joseph Assaf AO, founder of the Ethnic Business Awards (EBA) wished to highlight and celebrate.
The EBA was created in 1988 by Assaf, a Lebanese migrant from the 1960s who had a simple dream; to tell the positive stories about migrants. Neos Kosmos has been a proud sponsor of the awards for many years.
“I used to see only negative stories about migrants. People used to describe them as a burden on the community that lived off the social benefits of the country,” Mr Assaf told Neos Kosmos.
“They never mentioned any of the positive stories about migration and the great contribution and benefit Australia has received from it. I thought I would create something to tell these stories.”
Since then, the EBA have become one of the most prestigious and diverse set of awards in the country, recognising the contributions of migrants and Indigenous Australians in the world of business.
Nominations are open until July 31 as we prepare for the 34th edition of the awards that have put a spotlight on successful migrants and Indigenous Australians in the business realm through three key categories: Small Business, Medium-Large Business and Indigenous in Business. The founder of the EBA believed this would be a good way to spread the tales of the successful migrants in business and, in turn, inspire others to follow suit.
“The most effective achievement was creating role models of migrants to be emulated by other migrants, whether it be from the same community or from the migrant community at large,” he said.
Since its inception, the awards have come to recognise migrants from 102 different countries and even become a not-for-profit foundation as of 2019.
Most recently, in 2022, there was Greek-Australian representation in Dimitrios Krallidis’ Sydney-based DSK Kitchens & Furniture, which was nominated as a Finalist for the Small Business Award.
One of the most notable finalists back in 2015, was Victorian Christos Partsioglou who, as an 11-year-old, arrived in Australia from Greece with one suitcase for a family of five. Hard work and passion propelled him to success in the creation of desserts and chocolates.
In the beginning, the threshold for the Medium-Large Business category was any business that was well-established and had a turnover in excess of $five million, though it has since been increased to $10 million with Small Business available to those whose turnover is below that.
Mr Assaf turned his attention to another community in Australia, Indigenous Australians, the traditional custodians of this land, starting the Indigenous in Business category in 2010.
“Looking at the Indigenous Australian community relying only on government handouts and never succeeding at business, I thought the best way to get them to succeed and to stop relying on government handouts was to do what the migrants did: get into business and work hard,” he told Neos Kosmos.
“I felt they have better potential than the migrants because they have the language. They have their families here, unlike migrants who had no language, no money, no family. I thought that if we can get them to succeed and become role models to other Indigenous people, then we can achieve the same success that we did amongst the migrants.”
The EBA founder admitted that finding enough entries proved “extremely difficult” at first.
“We relied on all parliamentarians from the country, state and federal, to find people to nominate and participate in the awards,” Mr Assaf said.
“Now, after 13 years, we receive hundreds of nominations every year and they all admitted and considered it to be the most successful effort in getting the Indigenous community into the world of business.”
The success of this category has been widely acclaimed, with Mr Assaf stating that the late and former Governor General of Australia, Michael Jeffery, considered it a masterstroke.
The EBA founder mentioned another category created a few years ago now (that is not held every year) which recognises people who try to create a global bridge between Australia and the rest of the world.
“We thought of creating a category that rewards certain individuals who have built great bridges between Australia and their country of origin. The winner at the time was a Chinese person who had done so well in the world of business but had also contributed so much to charities in Australia,” he said.
“We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars and he did so also in China and Asia. He became a bridge between Australia and China and so he received the award. Our aim is to identify recipients in the world like that.”
The awards have been televised as well as sponsored on SBS since their foundation, while also being shown on NITV, Aurora Community Channel, and livestreamed on Facebook.
“Social Media has helped make it more global. The first year we streamed it live in 2019, more than 70, 000 people watched it,” Mr Assaf added.
The success of the EBA has left a profound impact on the founder, leaving him incredibly proud of seeing his dream become a reality.
“To me personally, I was always say it, all these winners, all these finalists, all the achievements, I felt that I’m the winner.”
Contestants are judged on the basis of:
- Hardship endured
- Financial and social obstacles overcome
- The viability and sustainability of the business they have created
- The ingenuity and originality of their business
- Their contribution to Australia and their communities
Who is eligible for nomination:
- For the Migrant Small or Medium-Large Award categories all entrants must be born overseas, in a country other than Australia and these entrants must now be Australian citizens or hold permanent residency
- Entrants must hold and provide a registered Australian Business Number (ABN)
- Entrants must own the whole or part of the business nominated
- Entrants must be financially transparent with due diligence reporting structures
- Entrants must be of good name and character and must not have engaged, directly or indirectly in any conduct which in the opinion of the Ethnic Business Awards Foundation might discredit the Awards
- Entrants must comply with all Federal and State Government legislation and regulations and all relevant industry codes of practice
- If shortlisted, entrants must agree to have their business and personal story made the subject of a three minute documentary style presentation to be screened during the night of the awards and subsequent broadcast to national and international television audiences
For more information on the awards, including how to nominate yourself or someone else, go to www.ethnicbusinessawards.com