Announcing our 3rd Annual BCNA Immigrant Heritage Week Award Winners

Announcing our 3rd Annual BCNA Immigrant Heritage Week Award Winners

by Yanki Tshering

It is my great honor to announce the names of the recipients of our 2013 BCNA Immigrant Heritage Week Awards. This will be the 3rd year we have honored outstanding immigrants and refugees and it has become a tradition we look forward to every year.

There is so much energy, entrepreneurial spirit, and creativity in the immigrant community and we are thrilled to be able to support it, not only through microloans, small business loans, and IDA matching funds, but also through the recognition of outstanding efforts.

Here are this year’s honorees:

• The 2013 Boot Strap Entrepreneur Award will be presented to Abou Dia of Kinxtel Corp.
• The 2013 Jobs Creation Award goes to Dr. Michael Danielov, a Russian immigrant and founder of BIONOVA Inc., a manufacturer of skincare products, who has created eight NYC jobs and continues to grow his business.
• The 2013 New Beginning Award will be presented to Samal Nur and to Abdul Diallo.  Samal came to the United States in 2009 as a refugee Kazakhstan and enrolled in BCNA’s IDA program. She invested her savings and match grant in a training program at the Aveda Beauty Institute and is now working in a prestigious salon.  Abdul came to the United States in 2009 as a refugee from Guinea. He found part-time cashier work and enrolled full-time in Community College. After learning about the Business Center for New Americans through fellow refugees, he participated our The Basics of Money and Assets workshop and the IDA program. With his IDA match grant he was able to purchase a desktop computer and an iPad to support his college studies.
• This year’s Corporate Leadership Award will go to Jill Kelly on behalf of Citi Community Development. Jill Kelly is the Deputy Regional Director, New York & Connecticut Region of Citi Community Development, which has been an enthusiastic supporter of the BCNA Microenterprise Program since 1998.

Please join us on April 22 from 8:30-11 AM to honor these exceptional New Yorkers. Click here to RSVP.