Nazeer Ahmed Mohamed Zakariah, the India-born founder and managing director of Nazmi Textile Mall in Brunei recently bagged the Master Entrepreneur Award at the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) 2021 Regional Edition in Singapore. APEA, an initiative of non-governmental organisation Enterprise Asia, receives over 800 nominations each year.
This year, 130 finalists from 15 countries were up for consideration in the final round of judging and only 59 were crowned as awardees, a press release from the organiser said.
Nazeer Ahamed Mohamed Zackiriah was born in India’s Tamil Nadu state in January 1955. At 23, he came to Brunei as a textile salesman. He opened his own textile shop in 1992 in Bandar Seri Begawan.
In 2000, Nazeer opened his flagship outlet at the Delima Jaya Complex. The shop sold fabrics of quality, incorporating exclusive designs, imported directly from Italy, Japan, Indonesia, India and the Middle East.
In 2004, Nazeer was elected as the president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Brunei Darussalam. He then opened the Nazeemah Department Store at Medan Tanjong Bunut in 2011. In the same year, he was elected as Vice President III of the Brunei-India Friendship Association.
Today, Nazeer runs a business empire with nine outlets in Brunei and one in Dubai. Nazmi Textile Mall is available in Delima Serusop, Manggis, The Mall Gadong, Athirah, Yayasan, Tanjung Bunut, Annajat Complex and other flagship stores such as Nazmi Qairah Fashion House, Home of Textile, Economy and Home De´cor.
Nazeer plans to expand the business in textile, fabrics and home decor across Brunei to include all four districts, the press release added.
