Business News President’s Focus


In this month’s President’s Focus, newly elected president of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce, Qasim Majid, reflects on the changing face of Birmingham, diversity in business and how the Chamber is enabling its members to access new opportunities.


Now in its 31st year, the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) moves into a new era. After four magnificent, stable years under the leadership of Saqib Bhatti, the organisation is brilliantly poised to kick on and reach even newer heights. Thirty-one years on, the challenges businesses face are now different. A digital world has completely changed the way we do business, with increased competition, barrier to entry even lower and diversity, at the top of the agenda, the ABCC is proving time and time again it is on the front foot, proactive and recognising the needs of today’s business environment. It’s been said many times before,


but right now Birmingham is going through a huge renaissance period. From large corporates, such as HSBC relocating their headquarters to Birmingham, HS2 starting works to connect the city not just nationally but globally, to the eagerly awaited Commonwealth Games in 2022. There is a huge amount of investment, not just into Birmingham but the West Midlands region as a whole. The ABCC executive board and I


recognise the opportunities that lie ahead for our members. Over the coming 12 months we will be working hard to connect our members to the opportunities that will filter through the supply the chain, as well as creating the environment for our members to connect with one another and create opportunities. Our Diversity Pledge will also


play an integral role to our plans moving forward. Already we are engaging with large household brands, which recognise the need to have a diverse work force and bring in leaders from BAME, women, LGBT and underrepresented communities into their businesses. It’s the ABCC they are turning to,


to advise them on their diversity policy. We hope to make a number of strides and provoke real change through our Diversity Pledge. Keep your eye out as we announce some amazing partnerships and promote businesses’ success stories. The ABCC’s doors are always


12 CHAMBERLINK June 2018


‘The ABCC is proving time and time again it is on the front foot, proactive and recognising the needs of today’s business environment’


open, so I’d like each and every one of you to utilise your membership to its fullest. The board and I are here to help your business move in


the right direction, but remember, ‘you have to be in it to win it’. If you’re not present then you will not gain from the opportunities on


offer across the Chamber. So I urge you to attend the events, add value to one another and you’ll find that the business will flow.


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