Karan Bilimoria Is ‘Entrepeneur Of The Year’

EH&C Staff - New Delhi

Karan Bilimoria, founder and chief executive officer, Cobra Beer, has been recognised as ‘Entrepreneur of the Year 2003’ by the Asian Achievers Awards. The awards ceremony, held at the Radisson Hotel in Portland Square, was held to recognise high achieving Asians in various sectors.

“My team and I at Cobra Beer are very honoured to have received such a prestigious award,” said Bilimoria. “Together with the other nominees, I hope that we have given the Asian community an image of great tenacity and innovation. If you have passion, perseverance and the will to succeed, the possibilities are endless. Building Cobra from scratch and being a part of its success has been a dream come true for me.”

After having qualified as a chartered accountant and graduating in law from Cambridge University, Bilimoria developed the less gassy Indian lager in 1990 to complement Indian cuisine and appeal to lager and ale drinkers alike. Thirteen years later, Cobra Beer is stocked nationwide in over 5,000 Indian restaurants and most major supermarket chains, has been exported to more than 30 countries worldwide and operates three overseas subsidiaries - India, the United States and South Africa.

The public chose nominees for the awards by responding to advertisement placed in various newspapers. The nominees were then narrowed down to four from each category. A panel of judges decided the winners from each category and the winners were announced on the night of the ceremony. Other categories for the awards included finance, business, uniformed services, community service, arts and culture, sports, women, and entrepreneurial.