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Women Rise Together's business awards triumph

Jon Wrightin Ipswich
Jon Wright/BBC Four women, three wearing traditional Kurdish headscarves, stand in an auditorium. They are smiling and holding framed certificates. The second woman from the left is holding a bunch of flowers.Jon Wright/BBC
Female Entrepreneur of the Year winners Women Rise Together (left to right) Cimen Kocabey, Sena Karabulut, Meral Yildirim and Nurdan Mendes

A community group for Kurdish women has been recognised for its entrepreneurial spirit at an awards ceremony for black and minority ethnic (BME) businesses.

Women Rise Together won the Female Entrepreneur of the Year category at the Suffolk BME Business Awards 2026.

"I'm just so proud of all of them," said Sena Karabulut, daughter of the Ipswich-based group's co-director, Cimen Kocabey.

"It's not really expected from Middle Eastern women to be able to go ahead by themselves to first just grow a business, but also organise social events."

Women Rise Together, which offers support and boosts opportunities to network, was praised for organising shopping festivals for women-led businesses.

Jon Wright/BBC A large crowd of people posing for a photograph at the front of an auditorium. Many are holding framed certificates. A screen behind reads "Suffolk BME Business awards 2026".Jon Wright/BBC
Finalists and winners all gathered for a photo after the awards ceremony, held at The Hold in Ipswich

There were more than 200 people at Tuesday's awards, held at The Hold on Ipswich's waterfront.

They were organised by the University of Suffolk and the charity BSC Multicultural Services (BSCMS).

Mojlum Khan, funding and development manager at BSCMS, said: "This is a unique event.

"We've got hundreds and hundreds of ethnic minority businesses scattered across the county, from Newmarket to Felixstowe, from Sudbury to Lowestoft, getting on with their businesses for decades without expecting anything.

"Through these awards, we celebrate their achievements and say 'keep on contributing to the local county, make Suffolk a great place'."

The 2026 Winners

  • Business of the Year - IMC Mortgage Brokers
  • Business of the Year (Catering) - Ocean Fish Platter
  • Business Person of the Year - Nural Islam Chowhury and Emraj Chowhury
  • Start-Up or New Business of the Year - Lucky's Coffee Shop
  • Community Business of the Year - The Fitness Hub
  • Female Entrepreneur of the Year - Women Rise Together
  • Charity of the Year - Ipswich Romanian Community
  • Health Champion of the Year - Dorina Petroi
  • Judges' Special Award - Suffolk Muslim Centre
Jon Wright/BBC A man in a dark suit, a white shirt and a blue tie smiles at the camera. The background, which appears to be the atrium of the awards ceremony venue, is out of focus. He is holding a certificate which reads "Business of the Year Winner 2026"Jon Wright/BBC
Rana Miah, who runs Business of the Year winner IMC Mortgage Brokers, now employs 16 staff across three locations in Suffolk

Rana Miah, who runs IMC Mortgage Brokers, scooped Business of the Year.

He said: "When my name got called out, that just felt amazing. I can't believe I won, so I'm very grateful.

"Financial service is very, very sensitive.

"We live in a world where a bomb goes off in Iran and the rates jump up over here; the energy prices, the cost of living prices, all of this affects our overall economy."

Reflecting on the need to have specific awards for BME businesses, he told BBC Radio Suffolk: "This does give a platform to those businesses that are actually very, very successful but just don't get that chance at some of the bigger awards.

"So to be championed for our actual efforts... it gives us a voice, it showcases these businesses and that's important."

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