Umer Ashraf Malik, 28, founder of iCafe, persuaded Duncan Bannatyne to invest in his growing chain of cafes last month.

He has been nominated in three categories – Young Achiever, Small Business and Entrepreneur of the Year.

Over 600 people will attend the glittering ceremony, in its seventh year, which takes place at the Thistle Hotel, Glasgow on Wednesday, December 12.

Well-known civil rights lawyer, Aamer Anwar, has been nominated as Best Professional in Business.

Among the other nominees are Dr Siraj Ahmed, who owns a chain of nursing and care homes, and property developer and restaurateur Tony Hussein (both Businessman of the Year); Rabinder Buttar, owner of international pharmaceutical firm ClinTec (Businesswoman of the Year); Rita Ahmad-Poddar, owner of cosmetic clinic Peppermint Studios (Entrepreneur of the Year); and Kishwar Sarwar of Tods Murray, a specialist in planning and environmental law, for Rising Star.

In all, 14 categories will be honoured on the night, including, for the first time, Creative Mind. This award recognises an individual or group of people who successfully delivered a business project by "thinking out of the box". There are two nominees – Luqman Javaid and Zubair Malik for Sugar Rush and Jiggy Majhu for the Ashoka Cookschool Cookbook.

The Scottish Asian Business Awards 2012 are sponsored by Bank of Scotland, and The Herald is the official media partner.