Dubai: Mangalurean Shabana Faizal receives NRI entrepreneur award

Dubai, Mar 25: Recognizing her commitment to responsible business in the UAE and India, Kairali TV has conferred the NRI Woman Entrepreneur Award to Shabana Faizal, Chief Corporate Officer (CCO) and Vice-Chairperson of KEF Holdings at their first-ever business excellence awards. KEF Holdings is a UAE-based multinational diversified group that specializes in innovative offsite construction technology.

Hailing from the city of Mangalore ,Shabana started her entrepreneurial career in 1995, when she set up Sophiya's World - luxury and special items studio - in Calicut, following her marriage to Faizal E Kottikollon, Chairman of KEF Holdings and the Faizal and Shabana Foundation.

In her dual role at KEF Holdings, Shabana oversees the corporate functions at KEF Holdings including the HR & Administration, Corporate Communications, IT and Legal functions; she is keenly involved in strategizing KEF's foray across infrastructure, healthcare, and education domains in India and the UAE. Shabana also holds the position of Co-Founder & Vice-Chairperson of the company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm - the Faizal and Shabana Foundation.

The Kairali TV NRI Entrepreneur Awards ceremony, which was held at the Indian Consulate Hall, Dubai, was headlined by prominent non-resident Indians. The Awards were chaired and juried by Ashraf Ali, Issac John, Senior Business Correspondent at Khaleej Times and Mr. C.K. Menon, Chairman and CEO of Behzad Corporation.

Shabana has a driving passion to make a difference in the lives of the underprivileged, which led to the setting up the Faizal and Shabana Foundation, which serves as the core of KEF's Corporate Philosophy. The Foundation carries out campaigns to improve education, healthcare, sustainable livelihood, humanitarian assistance, youth development and housing in India and the UAE. Her most recent passion project wasthe revamp and enhancement of the GVHSS in Nadakkavu, Kerala which has empowered more than 2400 young girls to believe in themselves and their dreams, and impacted the lives of more than 69,000 students across 65 schools in Kerala.

In 2015, KEF Holdings also completed a residential complex for staff and students of Yenepoya University in Mangalore in a short nine months. This facility was India's first wholly offsite manufactured building complex, a project that Shabana was closely involved with.

Accepting the award, Shabana Faizal said: “I am extremely honored to receive the NRI Entrepreneur Award from Malayalam Communications Ltd and Kairali TV. As Steve Jobs once said, half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. That is one quality that has defined me and my work over the last few years. I have had an adventurous entrepreneurial journey over the last 20 years, and I am very proud of the good work that we have been able to do over this time.”

She added, “Our philosophy at KEF Holdings can be defined through our commitment to make a difference that counts, and this is what is at the core of all our initiatives. I am grateful for this recognition for my work, and I will continue to move forward on the same path.”

Shabana Faizal is the daughter of prominent Mangaluru businessman, B Ahmed Hajee Mohiudeen Thumbey, Founder and Chairman of B A Group and is a psychology graduate of St Agnes College, Mangaluru.