Shortlist Announced

The 2026 Finalists

100 founders, innovators and exceptional talent who chose the UK, selected by our independent judging panel across ten categories. Winners announced on 16th November at The Dorchester, London.

Founder of the Year

Ahmed Adnan Elsharkawy
Aliaksandr Kazhamiakin
Artem Sokolov
Balamurugan Balasubramanian
Danyi Chen
Dmytro Fedoruk
Georgii Vysotskii
Johnson Fernandes
Rashid Aliyev
Witold Hruzewicz

Tech & Deep Science Innovation

Aswath Ganesan Indra
Cheng Li
David Sikharulidze
Hadeel Ayoub Hill
Johnson Fernandes
Dr Mae Mansoubi, Prof Helen Dawes, Prof Sallie Lamb, Dr Kourosh Norouzi
Manishkumar Yadav
Mary-Brenda Akoda
Mustafa Khanwala
Witold Hruzewicz

Global Talent Award

Professor Adebola Abosede Adeyi
Cansu Deniz Bayrak
David Sikharulidze
Katie Carroll
Lyubov Guk
Melissa Lim
Nsikak John Ekpenyong
Paige Zeigler
Ravneet Kaur
Seyed Aria Nejadghaderi

Emerging Founder of the Year

Aswath Ganesan Indra
Cheng Li
Jian Ma
Maria Sergeeva
Mary-Brenda Akoda
Omid Arbab
Shaofeng (Andy) Wang
Vishal Bhandari
Xinyi Dang
Yuan Xu

Co-Founding Team of the Year

Abhay Arora and Sagar Shah
Dr. David J Maximous, Dr. Tom O'Neil
Edmund Moyo, Dalumuzi 'Muzi' Dube
Heshmatollah Shoja, Omid Arbab
Ismaila Ibrahim
Dr Mae Mansoubi, Prof Helen Dawes, Prof Sallie Lamb, Dr Kourosh Norouzi
Maya Adina Mehrara, Agnese Enricha Picchio
Sonakshi Senthil, Dr Nikhit Anilbhai
Kim Trân Thủy Thiên, Pascal Thanh Tâm Nguyêñ
Vishal Bhandari, Kehinde Ahmed

Creative & Cultural Innovation

Chandni Dangson
Hiroko Shimada
Hyekyung Choi
Joe Javier Huerta Rodriguez
Kartik Sharma
Seyed Aria Nejadghaderi
Tiffany Chiu
Tran Thuy Thien Kim
Xinyi Dang
Yuxin He

UK SME Global Expansion

Abdulrahman Aboutair
Ahmed Adnan Elsharkawy
Dmytro Fedoruk
Heshmatollah Shoja, Omid Arbab
Muhammad Tayyab Shabbir
Mustafa Khanwala
Rashid Aliyev
Sonakshi Senthil, Dr Nikhit Anilbhai
Tiffany Chiu
Witold Hruzewicz

Breakthrough Innovation of the Year

Artem Sokolov
Balamurugan Balasubramanian
Cheng Li
Deepanjan Paul
Dr Abduljabar Hamza
Dr Yogesh Gupta
Fatimah Adeyanre Bamisedun
Ismaila Ibrahim
Mary-Brenda Akoda
Muktari Mohammed Musa

Ecosystem Builder of the Year

Anne-Sophie Martin
Cansu Deniz Bayrak
Lili Zhu
Lyubov Guk
Margaryta Sivakova
Michelle Hua
Nakul Garg
Nelli Shevchenko
Nsikak John Ekpenyong
Ravneet Kaur

Finalists are listed alphabetically within each category. Winners are announced at the awards evening on 16th November 2026.

Be in the Room

Awards Gala – 16th November 2026 · The Dorchester, London

Get Tickets

Sponsorship

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