Incubation business ‘highly commended’ at the Best of Royal Greenwich Business Awards

Ravensbourne incubatee and fashion designer Zekaryas Solomon was ‘highly commended’ in the Online Business Award category of the Best of Royal Greenwich Business Awards.

Further to this, award-winning video production company Biscuit Bunker, which was founded by Ravensbourne alumni Tom Neish and Elliott Hickey, were shortlisted in the Young Entrepreneur Award category, and Ravensbourne’s Head of Enterprise and Innovation, Ha Smith, was shortlisted for the Business Champion Award in recognition of her work developing the Incubation programme.

Incubation at Ravensbourne, provides local start-ups and student and alumni businesses with hot desk spaces, facilities, and access to funding and specialist business support. To date, the initiative has supported over 150 businesses to develop in the creative industries.

The Best of Royal Greenwich Business Awards are run in partnership with U+I and the South East London Chamber of Commerce, aiming to “showcase business excellence from the best organisations within the borough”. This year’s ceremony was held at the InterContinental O2 Hotel, with journalist and BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern hosting proceedings.

Zekaryas was recognised as a highly commended entry shortly before the winner of the Online Business Award was announced. He has run an online fashion business since 2010, applying the design principles he gained as an architect in his garment designs.

Commenting, he said: “I decided to apply as I always wanted to be part of the future Greenwich and the upcoming fashion district. Moreover, I would like to work, exchange experiences and create jobs within the community once my business grows. I was so excited to attend the ceremony as a shortlisted candidate, but when I heard that I was highly commended in the Online Business category I felt overwhelmed. I would like to thank the Royal Borough of Greenwich and all the event’s sponsors for recognising our businesses for what we do.”