Global finalists - Entrepreneurial Award 2021

  • University of Leeds

    Anu is founder of EFI Hub, Asia and Africa’s first virtual start-up accelerator. EFI Hub was acquired by Acorn Capital in 2018. Anu since built and sold startups in the HR Tech space in South East Asia and in the United States. In 2020, Anu joined as a Venture Partner at San Francisco-based OpenBook Ventures, a $100mn Venture Partner fund started by the founder and CEO of GitLab. Previously Anu has worked in M&A, Strategy Consulting, Private Equity across Singapore, Dubai, London, and New York.

    Americas: Anu Shah (USA)

  • University of Cambridge

    Julianna is the Founder of Ampla Education, which provides after-school tuition and admissions advice to students applying to boarding schools and universities. Ampla is tackling educational inequality by delivering free services to disadvantaged learners, increasing access to quality education for all. To date it has helped more than 1,800 students to realise their education goals. Julianna has been named Female Entrepreneur of the Year, and won an Asia Business Achiever Award.

    East Asia: Julianna Yau (China)

  • University of Essex

    Konstantina is Founder and CEO of Tenebra Studios, an independent video game and software development company. Her projects include educational video game for refugees, research on AI and machine learning and virtual reality application to detect early signs of dementia among others. Konstantina has organized a number of technology events in Greece and is committed to improving women’s representation in technology and the gaming industry. She describes her experience in the UK as life-changing.

    Europe: Konstantina Bethani (Greece)

  • University of Cambridge

    Inspired by the creative problem-solving skills he developed in the UK, Samer designed a course animated video game to engage the new generation of students who had grown tired of conventional teaching approaches. He won a grant to develop the idea, and now setting up a company to create similar games. Samer is also working with the government and industry to implement his innovative solutions to air pollution, winning Qatar’s only UK–Gulf Institutional Links Award for one such project in 2016.

    Middle East and North Africa: Samer Ahmed (Qatar)

  • Loughborough University, Staffordshire University and Middlesex University

    Janki is the Co-founder of Samiksha Sports Pvt Ltd, a pioneering sports and performance psychology company. She has helped more than 10,000 athletes to improve their performance by building mental resilience, and provided mentoring to 100 psychologists to support the growth of the sector. Janki was India’s first qualified sports psychologist and has since pursued an MSc and PhD in the UK. She cites the unique teaching approaches and experiential learning methods that she encountered in the UK.

    South Asia: Janki Rajapurkar Deole (India)

  • Coventry University

    Olumide is the Co-founder and CEO of AgroData™, which supports small-scale farmers to boost their productivity and income through sustainable farming interventions. AgroData™ has enlisted more than 1,000 farmers, restored 3,134 acres of farmland, and helped to improve the quality of life of 5,335 farmers and rural dwellers in Oke-Ogun, Nigeria. Olumide is a two-time winner of Coventry University’s Bright Idea Award and in 2020 won a Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the Nigeria60 programme.

    Sub-Saharan Africa: Olumide Ogunbanjo (Nigeria)

  • University of Bristol

    Javid is the Founder of Camping Azerbaijan, an ecotourism and sightseeing company. He is passionate about environmental protection, particularly deforestation and habitat loss, and in 2020 stood as an independent, green candidate in Azerbaijan’s parliamentary elections. Javid led a successful initiative to clean more than 10km of shoreline on the outskirts of Baku. Javid believes the emphasis on soft skills in addition to technical knowledge is what sets UK education apart from other countries.

    Wider Europe: Javid Gara (Azerbaijan)

See also

Global winners 2021

The global winners of the 2020-21 Study UK Alumni Awards were selected for their outstanding achievements as professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders.

Global finalists - Professional Achievement Award 2021

Recognising UK alumni who have distinguished themselves through exemplary leadership and achievements in their professional industry.

Global finalists - Social Impact Award 2021

Recognising UK alumni who have made an exceptional contribution and commitment to creating positive social change and improving the lives of others.

National Awards - winners and finalists 2021

View the winners and finalists of the National Awards 2021.