Well-known businessman Mr Solly Noor of Solly’s Discount World is one of the eight finalists in the Businessperson of the Year category in the national IslamicFinance Business Awards.

IslamicFinance is a division of Wesbank and part of First National Bank. According to Mr Ebi Patel, CEO of IslamicFinance, the aim of the award is, "to ensure that, through the awards, we acknowledge excellence within the Muslim community, and together with our partners KPMG, The Minara Chamber of Commerce and ITV, we intend to establish these awards as a key event on the South African business calendar".

The winners will be announced during a gala function in Johannesburg on Friday, November 3.

The seven other finalists in this category are Sayed Hoosen Mia, Dr Mohamed Adam, Aboobakr Suleiman Tayob, Abdul Razak Moosa, Achmat Jacobs, Mohammed Akoob and Yusuf Ismail.