Ambassador Anil Wadhwa Former Ministry of External Affairs Government of India Author, Australia Economic Strategy Report 2020
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Ambassador Anil Wadhwa Former Ministry of External Affairs Government of India Author, Australia Economic Strategy Report 2020
Ambassador Anil Wadhwa Former Ministry of External Affairs Government of India Author, Australia Economic Strategy Report 2020
IABCA in 2014
2026 IABCA FINALISTS
The IABCA Advisory and Awards Jury proudly recognise the 2026 IABCA Award Finalists, acknowledging a distinguished cohort of individuals and organisations shaping the Australia–India corridor.
Drawn from over 300 nominations, finalists were selected through a rigorous and highly competitive jury-led process, reflecting a broad cross-section of sectors across business, innovation, research, culture, and leadership.
We extend our congratulations to each finalist and look forward to celebrating their achievements at the 2026 IABCA Awards Gala, to be held as part of the IABCA Immersion Week in Australia in September 2026 — a dynamic program dedicated to leadership, partnership, and strengthening bilateral engagement.
As a non-membership platform, IABCA continues to convene and elevate leaders based on merit, impact, and contribution — creating a credible ecosystem that supports the ongoing growth of the Australia–India relationship.
IABCA Australia India Impact Award (Organisation)
IABCA Australia India Impact award recognises the contributions of an organisation or project that adds value to the bilateral relationship. The category celebrates projects and organisations that have expanded from Australia to India or India to Australia.
Addverb Australia
Bridge Select Pty Ltd
Exigo Tech Pty Ltd
Aroha Stories
Gaura Travel
India Vision Institute (IVI)
Mawa Sweets
Turtle Down Under (TDU)
IABCA Australia India Impact Award (Individual)
IABCA Australia India Impact award recognises the contributions of an individual, (living or working across our two nations) that adds value to the bilateral relationship.
Dr Dilip Ghosh, PhD, FACN
Director,
Nutriconnect Australia,
Consultant, WHO-GTMC
(Traditional Medicine)
Dr. Kiran Shinde
Associate Professor,
School of Law,
University of Notre Dame Australia
Dr Madhan Balasubramanian BDS, MHSM (Hons), PhD, FCHSM, FICD, JP
Deputy Director Health & Aged Care Management
Flinders University
Dr Vidya Sagar Athota
Associate Professor
University of Notre Dame Australia
Gaurav Wadekar
Founder
Jobseeker Circle
Professor Mohan Yellishetty
Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering
Monash University
Rekha Rajvanshi
Founder
Indian Literary & Art Society of Australia (ILASA Inc.)
Venkateswaran Palat Krishnan
Proprietor
Waran's Academy of Excellence
Yesha Patel
Founder & Director
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IABCA Australia India Science, Research & Development Award
Central to the purpose of this award is the recognition and support of outstanding contributions to the advancement of science, technology and research made by an organisation or an individual.
Devanshi Seth
Professor and Head
Research Program
Centenary Institute
Jawwad Aamer Khan
Founder/Director
Cyneryx and AgRobot
Mycloud Services Pty Ltd
Dr. Saswati Das
Associate Professor
Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India
Pegasus International College
Renew IT & UNSW SMaRT Centre
SmartHeal
IABCA Managing Director | Business Leader of the Year
This award recognises outstanding achievements of a CEO, managing director and or business leader, in senior management who has built a successful career and is over 40 years of age.
Amit Agarwal
COO
Tracxn Technologies
Deepa Ramesh
CEO
Sundaram Business Services
Derek Mahony
Specialist Orthodontist & Founder
Full Face Orthodontics
Kapil Virmani
Founder
Think Mortgage
Kunal Sawhney
CEO
Kalkine PTY Ltd
Mannu Kala
Founder
MK Tech
Neelesh Mehta
CEO
Bikecorp
Neil Saligrama
Founder & CEO
Compare&Connect
Sanjeev Gill
Founder and Managing Director
Barton Business School
Susil Kumar
Director
CUMI (Australia) Pty Ltd
Sangeerni Iyer
CEO
Vitasoy Australia
Sanjeev Gandhi
Managing Director & CEO
Orica
IABCA Business Woman of the Year
This award recognises outstanding achievements of a female leader who has built a successful business or career over time.
AlpsFitness
Alpa Anand Sonigra
Founder/Director
GPS Lawyers & Consultants
Dr Apurva Kirti Sharma
Founder and Principal
CSmart Consulting
Anu Bedi
Director
Dreamtime Learning
Lina Ashar
Founder
Funktionality Events & Experiences
Tracy Wood
Director
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Punar
Priya Ravindra Kalyanimath
CEO
Rain Harvesting Pty Ltd Australia
Jackie Hammond
CEO
Slingshot Solutions Pty Ltd
Nomeeta Mistry
Co-Founder
Sterling Migration &
Education Consultants
Yojana Pareek
Director
SmartHeal
Santosh Kaur
Founder and CEO
The Melbourne Psychiatry Centre
Aparana Sareen - Founder and Practice Manager
IABCA Emerging Leader of the Year Award
This award recognises the exceptional achievements of an emerging leader who is making a significant impact in their field and is under 40 years of age. The category is open to professionals who are in middle or senior management roles and have demonstrated leadership potential, innovation, and a commitment to personal and professional growth. Nominations will be assessed on the below five criteria, each of which are given equal weighting.
Alisha Poonawalla
Founding Managing Partner
APM Consulting
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Benjemen Elengovan
Founder and CEO
MyGigsters
Bishwamber Nath
Principal, Data Platforms
& Financial Crime
AMP
Damien Shankar
Mortgage Broker & Founder
Kick Finance
Dhanush Girish
MBA Candidate, Stanford Graduate School of Business & Master of Public Policy Candidate, Harvard Kennedy School
Dheepa Awtani
Managing Director
D3 Events
Dr Sitanshu Arora
General Dental Practitioner
Central Park Dental & Smilez Spec
George Janev
Co-Founder and Operations Lead
Holy Sanity
Heshan Fernando
Founder and Director
The Model Man Pty Ltd
Mehul Nagpurkar
Founder
Carlton Street
Michael Rengarajah
Managing Director
Clayton Capital
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Nikhil Kulkarni
Technology and Product Leader
(ex-Atlassian, ex-Flipkart)
Rushi Vyas
Founder What’s On!
Campus Pty Ltd
Sara Singh Tak
Founder & CEO
Humans of Australia
Sudhir Gupta
Founder & Managing Director
Zone IT Solutions
Ziyan Tejani
Multicultural
Youth Network Member
NSW Government (Australia)
IABCA Excellence in Creative & Sporting Economy
This award recognises outstanding achievement by an individual, organisation, or project that has advanced the Creative Industries as a vital economic and cultural driver within the Australia–India relationship.
It celebrates initiatives that blend creativity with commerce — showcasing innovation, collaboration, and measurable impact across sectors such as fashion, design, media, film, music, visual arts, performing arts, sport and sports-related industries, and digital content.
IABCA values the Creative Industries as a cornerstone of economic growth, job creation, and cultural diplomacy, recognising the powerful role that creative and sporting ecosystems play in strengthening people-to-people ties, global visibility, and cross-border markets.
Australasian Academy of Tennis Coaches
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Alpa Anand Sonigra
Founder/Director
Alpsfitness & Balance Talk Show
Brandon Colaco
Indian Didgeridoo Artist and musician
Two EyedWizard
Dr Harpreet (Neena) Mand
Artist, Architecture, Co-Founder
MA Collaborative
Kho Kho Australia
Mukul Damle
Principal, DG architects
Director, DG Consultants PL
Author of Stars Over the Silhouette
Nikhil Tribhuvan
Founder & CEO
Aroha Stories & Nik Photography
Neha Khanna
Director
The Wedding Factor
Nilanjana Sanyal
Published Author
Prateek Gandhi
Founder & CEO,
Prateek Gandhi International Productions, CEO, INDUSAGE Perth WA Media
Priya Srinivasan
Artistic Director
Sangam
Pruthvi Shivaram
Strategy Manager
Gemba
Sanjay Sharma
President
Indian Australian Multicultural Sports Association.
Winsher Sports
Australian Home of Football
IABCA Excellence in Innovation
This award recognizes a start-up, business or project that has exercised innovation in contriving a new and unique business model. This category is also open to established businesses who have shown innovation by introducing a novel product or service, or by executing an innovative policy or strategy to generate a competitive advantage.
AI2Easy Pty Ltd
Arna Pharma Pty Ltd
Ethical Property Investments
Finpay Group
InQuik Pty Ltd
KnG Healthcare
MyGigsters
Neev Tech Labs Pty Ltd
NEXBOT
Talent Formula
Winsher Sports
Australian Home of Football
World Wide Electrical Safety
(WWEST)
IABCA Excellence in Trade, Investment, and Partnerships
This award celebrates the achievements of organisations, projects, or partnerships that have successfully driven trade and investment opportunities between India and Australia. It highlights the role of partnerships in fostering shared value, ownership, risk management, and mutual benefit, while strengthening the bilateral relationship between the two nations. Eligible applicants may include organisations engaged in importing or exporting goods and services, or joint ventures that have resulted in sustained and increased trade and investment between India and Australia.
Australasian Academy of Tennis Coaches
BSI Learning & IICA
CUMI (Australia) Pty Ltd
Baxter IP
Emertel
Firstsource Solutions Australia Pty Ltd
India Growth Funds Aust. Pty Ltd
Leather, Lore & Lavish
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Rain Harvesting Pty Ltd Australia
Reya Group
IABCA Large Business of the Year
This award recognises a large business, defined as part of an economic group with a combined turnover between the two nations of greater than $250 million, that has demonstrated exceptional leadership in enhancing trade and investment between India and Australia. The award highlights businesses that have leveraged their scale, innovation, and partnerships to drive sustained economic growth, foster bilateral relationships, and deliver mutual benefits between the two nations. Eligible applicants include large enterprises involved in significant importing/exporting activities or collaborative ventures resulting in measurable and sustainable trade and investment success.
Orica
CUMI (Australia) Pty Ltd
TVS Supply Chain Solutions-Global Freight Solutions Ltd
IABCA Micro Business of the Year
Micro businesses are typically founder-led enterprises, employing a small number of people and operating with lean structures. These businesses often demonstrate agility, innovation, and strong growth potential.
This award recognises outstanding achievement and contribution by a micro business that has demonstrated excellence, resilience, and impact within the Australia–India corridor.
Little Growling Cafe
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Indriya
Masala Theory
Okhli Australia
Pinnacle Advisors
The Indian Bazaar
IABCA SME of the Year
Small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) are defined as economic groups, with small businesses employing fewer than 20 people and medium businesses employing between 20 and 199 people. In line with Australian Taxation Office (ATO) guidelines, small businesses are also recognised as those with an annual turnover of less than $10 million. This award acknowledges outstanding achievement and contribution by an SME.
AccSource Knowledge Process Outsourcing Pvt Ltd
Advanced Dentistry Institute
Carisma Solutions Pvt Ltd
Compax
Crystal Delta
DoxAI
Exigo Tech Pty Ltd
Onroad Driving Education
Tongala Nutrition Pty Ltd
Sundaram Business Services
Vitasoy Australia Pty Ltd
