DDCAP Group is delighted to announce that it has been honoured with two accolades at the International Real Estate Forum (IREF) 2014 Awards, organised by London-based ICG Events, which is now in its 11th Year. This is the second consecutive year that the DDCAP Group has won the two Awards, which recognise the outstanding achievements of development and financing companies in addition to the best market intermediary in the real estate sector.
The Awards Ceremony was held at a Gala Dinner at the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel in London on 16th December 2014 and in conjunction with the IREF 2014 Summit under the theme ‘Real Estate – The Asset Class of 2014 & Beyond: Sustainability & Innovation in an Ever-Changing Global Real Estate Market’. Both DDCAP Group Managing Director, Stella Cox and Deputy CEO, Lawrence Oliver attended the Gala Dinner and the Summit proceedings.
DDCAP Group, which is one of the largest intermediation and commodity facilitation firms serving the Islamic finance industry, won the ‘Award of Excellence for Best Market Intermediary in Real Estate’, and the ‘Award of Excellence for Best Technology Innovation’ for its Asset Facilitation Platform.
This year’s Gala Dinner, which was compered by Mushtak Parker, Editor of Islamic Banker magazine, was graced by the presence of a Special Guest of Honour, Jonathan Freeman, Managing Director of Mosaic, a major charity of HRH The Prince of Wales, aimed at engaging with inner city youth through small business start-ups, mentoring and international leadership programmes.
The theme of his Dinner Speech ‘The Role of the Islamic Finance Community in Developing Responsible Global Leadership’ could not be more relevant in a post-2008 financial crisis era, during which financial institutions and the global banking industry are being urged to foster genuine linkages with the real economy and society in general through social justice, community and other outreach programmes. DDCAP Group is actively involved with HRH The Prince of Wales charitable initiatives.
Mr Freeman, previously a member of the Senior Civil Service in the UK Government, in which capacity he was responsible for significant policy and operational delivery in the area of social justice, had a simple message for the Islamic finance community: “Get Involved”. According to Mr Freeman, Mosaic, which was founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2007 as an initiative of ‘Business in the Community’, “inspires young people from deprived communities to realise their talents and potential. Mosaic’s mentoring programmes in schools and prisons are delivered by volunteers and lift the aspirations of young people and close the gap between those aspirations and their attainment. With the help of volunteer mentors acting as role models, we aim to bridge the aspirations-attainment gap. By linking young people with inspirational role models in this way, we boost their confidence, self-efficacy and long-term employability.”
Mosaic delivers mentoring programmes to four groups of beneficiaries including primary school students, secondary school students, young ex-offenders and through an International Leadership Programme. Mr Freeman urged the Islamic Finance Community to engage through Mosaic’s above programmes especially through volunteering and mentoring by imparting their experience, knowledge and advice to young people.
At the IREF 2014 Summit, DDCAP Group Managing Director, Stella Cox, chaired the Session on ‘Real Estate: The Regional Conundrum – UK, Continental Europe, North America, GCC & South East Asia’, while Deputy CEO, Lawrence Oliver, participated in the Panel Discussion on ‘Shariah, English Law, Innovation & Sustainability in the Real Estate Market’.