Dubai's Entrepreneurs celebrated at annual Lloyds TSB Small Business Awards

Suzi Croft and Manar Al Jayouchi, Managing Partners of Appetite Catering collected the coveted award at a glittering breakfast ceremony held at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel attended by 400 people.

The Lloyds TSB Small Business Awards, now in their 3rd year, are a showcase for the best of Dubai's entrepreneurial talent. Hosted this year by Dubai Eye Business Tonight presenter Richard Dean and spiced up with a key note address by the Chief Executive Officer of biz-ability, Hazel Jackson, the awards recognise the outstanding contribution that small and medium sized enterprises make to the UAE's economy.

Appetite Catering is a young Dubai family business established to cater to the growing need in the market for high quality, tasty and fresh food for off the shelf consumption. It specializes in office food delivery, executive lunches and corporate catering.

Upon receiving the Award, Suzi Croft, said:

"This is a fantastic achievement for us and I am immensely proud to receive this award. The Lloyds TSB Small Business Awards are a great networking event and a true endorsement of the importance of small businesses in the UAE. My thanks to the sponsors and, most importantly, to all of the Appetite team who have committed so much to the company and to our common passion for food."

Richard Musty, Head of Consumer Banking for Lloyds TSB Middle East, spoke at the ceremony, said:

"For the third year running the Lloyds TSB Small Business Awards have showcased the very best in Dubai's entrepreneurial talent. Small and medium sized enterprises are the cornerstone of any economy and we are proud of our association with this sector here in the Emirates. We have a worthy winner in each category and all of the judges were impressed by the quality of the short-listed businesses. I wholeheartedly endorse the judges' view that Appetite Catering has demonstrated an innovative service, a well thought out business plan and an excellent marketing programme. My congratulations also go to the winners in all of the other categories - a truly inspirational group of people."

In addition to the main award, awards were also given in several other categories.

• The Links Group Entrepreneurial Start-Up Award went to BizX Trading.
• Winner of the 7Days Creative Promotion Award was Lunchboxes.ae.
• DHL, the sponsor of the Outstanding Customer Service Award, handed the award to Smashing! Cleaning Services.
• The KPMG Business Growth Award went to Explorer Publishing.
• The RSA Insurance Award for Innovation went to Ethos Consultancy.


The Lloyds TSB Small Business Awards are now in their third year. Over 90 businesses applied in 2008 and the panel of judges was made up of senior executives from the Awards' sponsors; some of Dubai's most noteworthy business people. All 15 short-listed businesses presented to the judging panel in November.

Sponsors of the Lloyds TSB Small Business Awards 2008 included 7Days, DHL, RSA Insurance, KPMG, Links Group of Companies, British Business Group and Dubai Duty Free.