Five businesses in Melbourne’s north have been recognised at our 2017 Northern Multicultural Small Business Awards. We run the awards in partnership with the City of Whittlesea and Small Chilli Marketing, and they are held as part of the Small Business Victoria Festival.

Northern Multicultural Small Business Awards winners announced

31 August 2017

Five businesses in Melbourne’s north have been recognised at our 2017 Northern Multicultural Small Business Awards.

We run the awards in partnership with the City of Whittlesea and Small Chilli Marketing, and they are held as part of the Small Business Victoria Festival.

We congratulate:

• Mario Turcarelli, Dolphin Products, who won the Business Excellence Award
• Saba Alemayoh, Afro Hub, who won the Multicultural Impact Award
• Adam Raad, Deep Ocean Fish and Chippery, who won the Most Promising New Business Award
• Liz Tripodi, Vocal Art Studios, who won the Women's Small Business Champion Award
• Sharifa Abiikar, Somali Street Food Café, who won the Stepping Stones Most Promising Graduate Award.

First held in 2016, the initiative showcases the extraordinary contribution of business operators from a migrant, refugee or asylum seeker background in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. Hutch Hussein, Senior Manager of our Multicultural Communities Team, says a diverse range of cultures and business types were represented this year. ‘Our aim was to discover and reward business excellence among business people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. We know through our Stepping Stones to Small Business program that there’s a wealth of business talent out there in migrant and refugee communities. These awards allow us to showcase the contribution our multicultural communities make to our economy and society,’ Ms Hussein said. Winners were announced at a presentation ceremony and dinner last week.