Chirag Vora, Managing Director, Bafleh Jewellery LLC was awarded the coveted ‘Young Entrepreneur of the year award’ at the inaugural edition of JWA Dubai 2022, the regional edition of the prestigious Jewellery World Awards. The award is the first business award that specifically honours individuals and companies from the Middle East’s rapidly growing jewellery and gemstone trade. 

Mr. Chirag expressed his happiness in winning the award. “I am very happy and really proud to win this prestigious award at the inaugural edition of JWA Dubai 2022. Bafleh Jewellery is known for the variety, quality and craftsmanship of our products. We present an ideal combination of classic and traditional, as well as fashion-forward and modern jewellery and accessories to the market,” said Chirag, who joined the family business in 2008. From then on, he became part of a company whose wholesale offices in Dubai’s Deira Gold Souq has attracted a diverse array of customers from the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia. A truly global brand, Bafleh is known for selling jewellery crafted in Hong Kong, Turkey, Italy and other parts of the world. 

Chirag was selected for the efforts taken by him to enhance his business activities during these difficult times. When COVID-19 hampered international travel and slowed down foot traffic in Bafleh’s sales points, he had to carefully assess the situation and plan their next steps. “We needed to reach out and be closer to our customers who could not easily travel to Dubai due to the restrictions. Having identified such a need, we began to see the pandemic as an opportunity to grow and expand,” he says. As a result, we set up our direct holding offices in Oman and Bahrain and entered into a partnership in Qatar. Ultimately, we achieved our goal of not only retaining our customers, but also being closer to them. Even travel restrictions could work in favour of our new bases, which offer our customers in these countries a chance to purchase gold while saving on travel costs.” Altogether, the innovations and best practices that Chirag introduced have been beneficial for Bafleh, which grew its customer footprint and even exceeded its sales targets by 40 percent in spite of the pandemic. 

According to Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC, and Chairman of Dubai Diamond Exchange, one of the principal judges of JWA Dubai, “It is my honour to be a part of the successful launch of JWA Dubai — an awards programme that recognises the achievements of the jewellery industry in the Middle East and celebrates its status as an important market in the global trade. I am proud to say that our inspiring recipients are very deserving of the recognition, especially for the great resilience they have shown in the face of the pandemic.”  

Organised by JGT Dubai (Jewellery Gem Technology Dubai), a joint venture by Informa Markets Jewellery (IMJ) – the world’s largest B2B jewellery fairs organiser and Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), JWA Dubai 2022 is supported by Official Partner, DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre).