The NJIEA’s esteemed panel of judges have selected the winners for the 2017 awards. This year, in addition to the Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year, we will be honoring immigrants for their achievements in Growth, Advocacy, and Innovation as well as recognizing a Rising Star.

Congratulations!

Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year:
K. Peter Yu (Hong Kong), Founder, Managing Principal, Yu & Associates, Elmwood Park, NJ
Caspar Wistar Award for Growth:
Carlo and Raoul Momo (Brazil), CEO and COO, Terra Momo Restaurant Group, Princeton, NJ
David Sarnoff Award for Advocacy:
Rashaad Bajwa (Pakistan)- CEO/President, Domain Computers, Princeton, NJ
Albert Einstein Award for Innovation:
Mihai Banu (Romania), Founder, Chief Technology Officer, Blue Danube Systems, Warren, NJ
The Rising Star Recognition:
Rekha Rao-India- President, Rao Legal Group, Princeton, NJ

The awards will be presented as part of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce/Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce Global Opportunities Summit “Building Bridges to Business Connections” at the Doubletree Hotel in Princeton, NJ on September 13, 2017 from 8:00-11:30 AM.

Click here to register for the event or for more information.
In New Jersey, foreign-born individuals like our 2014 winner Mario Casabona CEO of Tech Launch, and 2015 winner Iftekhar Hossain of IH Engineering, and 2016 winner Jose “Pepe” Garcia of Maverick Building Services have created more than one in three new businesses in recent years, ranking New Jersey behind only California, New York, and Florida. NJ companies started by immigrants generate an annual business income of $6.2 billion in New Jersey.
NJIEA is a coalition of New Jersey groups, including regional and bi-national chambers of commerce, immigrant advocacy groups, and other community organizations joining to celebrate the important role of immigrants in today’s economy and to honor the contributions of immigrant business leaders to their communities.

We believe that rather than send qualified foreign-born advance-degree graduates of U.S. colleges and universities back home to compete against U.S. businesses, Congress should encourage these individuals to stay in the United States by offering them permanent resident status. We can further buttress our competitive edge, by expanding the H-1B visa program, which makes available to U.S. businesses some of the world’s most highly-trained professionals in fields across the business sector. What’s more, a significant portion of H-1B filing fees fund education and training programs to enhance the skills of U.S. workers, particularly in the technology fields.