NJ Business Immigration Coalition honors immigrant entrepreneurs making a difference
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NJ Business Immigration Coalition honors immigrant entrepreneurs making a difference
The awards honor immigrant business leaders helping New Jersey communities thrive. The ceremony on June 24 at the statewide Multicultural Business Expo in Edison celebrated the success of immigrant entrepreneurs who hail from India, Germany, China, and England. Immigrants have founded 37.2% of New Jersey’s new businesses and they start small businesses at more than twice the rate of native-born Americans, according to the news release. The New Jersey Immigrant of the Year Award was presented to Dhiraj Shah, founder and general partner of ASY Capital, Edison, a high-growth investment firm. The Ida Rosenthal Rising Star Award was given to Ada Yung, chief enthusiasm officer at The Little Gym of Montgomery/Hillsborough. The Albert Einstein Award for Innovation was awarded to Yidian Liu, co-founder of PolyGone, which was co-founded in 2021 by Princeton graduates Nathaniel Banks and Nathaniel Y. Liu, who were named Forbes Under 30 fellows in response to the global inaction in escalating microplastic contamination levels.
The awards honor immigrant business leaders helping New Jersey communities thrive. Named after historic entrepreneurs, the awards were created to highlight the social and economic contributions of New Jersey’s immigrants to communities throughout the state and celebrate the important role of immigrants to today’s economy.
The ceremony on June 24 at the statewide Multicultural Business Expo in Edison celebrated the success of immigrant entrepreneurs who hail from India, Germany, China, and England.
“We bring people who have come to America from all over the world together in a celebration of success. Our honorees may have struggled to get here ― overcoming long waits, a broken immigration process, a changing climate and economic hardship, however, they succeeded.” said Katherine Kish, executive director of Einstein’s Alley and one of the founders of the Coalition, in a news release. “We admire the talent and spirit of these immigrant entrepreneurs whose great accomplishments were made possible by the American values of opportunity, equality, freedom that allowed them to build these wonderful businesses right here in NJ.”
Immigrants have founded 37.2% of New Jersey’s new businesses and they start small businesses at more than twice the rate of native-born Americans, according to the news release. Millions of American workers are currently employed at immigrant-founded and immigrant-owned companies.
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The New Jersey Immigrant of the Year Award was presented to Dhiraj Shah, founder and general partner of ASY Capital, Edison, a high-growth investment firm. At ASY Capital, he plays a role in helping entrepreneurs successfully scale their early-stage companies, leveraging expertise in investment strategy, operations, and growth acceleration. Prior to founding ASY Capital, from 2006 to 2021, Shah was the founder, president, and CEO of Avaap in Edison. He continues to serve as executive chairman of Avaap’s board.
Shah currently serves as co-vice chair of the Board of Trustees at New Jersey Institute of Technology and is a member of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Innovation Institute.
The Caspar Wistar Award for Growth Award was presented to serial entrepreneur Arthur Kapoor, founder of Infotech Global, Inc., a software development company headquartered in Piscataway. Kapoor is also co-founder of Elligint Health, an integrated population health management (PHM) platform based in Edison. An entrepreneur with 35 years of experience building financial, clinical, and operational platforms that solve challenges for diverse industries, Kapoor partnered with fellow entrepreneurs to create Computer-Aided Design (CAD) programs for the furniture industry in 1986. In 1991, he entered the healthcare field by founding Med-Link Technologies, which became the fastest growing healthcare claims clearinghouse in the U.S.
Kapoor was an early pioneer in interoperability and health information exchange, providing the infrastructure for the New Jersey Health Information Network. In 2010, Kapoor founded a home for Indian orphans. He was knighted by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta for his charitable work around the world In 2011. Kapoor serves as the co-executive vice chair of the Foundation Board of Directors at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and was recently appointed as a Commissioner for the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority.
The Ida Rosenthal Rising Star Award was presented to Ada Yung, chief enthusiasm officer at The Little Gym of Montgomery/Hillsborough. In 1997, Yung received a scholarship to come to the U.S. She was accepted by Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., to study in its School of Foreign Service. After graduation, she worked at a tech start up, then a think tank. She always had the desire to follow in her Hong Kong family’s footsteps and be an entrepreneur.
Now she is building a company that is uniquely designed for children ages 4 months to 12 years old. Programs and classes offered are designed to help develop a child’s motor skills and confidence. To date, her company has helped more than 5,000 families develop their children and celebrate childhood.
The Albert Einstein Award for Innovation was presented to Yidian Liu, co-founder of PolyGone in Princeton. PolyGone was co-founded in 2021 by immigrant Princeton graduates Nathaniel Banks and Yidian Liu, who were named Forbes 30 Under 30 fellows in response to the global inaction in addressing escalating microplastic contamination levels. Within two years of its founding, PolyGone has secured more than $3 million in funding from private venture capital, federal and state grants. In May 2025, PolyGone secured its seed round funding, which will allow the team to continue its growth, create more high-quality jobs, and develop critical hardware technologies in microplastic interception and recovery.
The Dieter Weissenrieder Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Suresh Kumar, president of The Indus Entrepreneur, NJ Chapter, based in Newark. Kumar is a professor, serial entrepreneur, start-up mentor, non-profit leader, and author. Born in India, Suresh co-founded his first venture in 1999, Nex Age Technologies in the Iselin section of Woodbridge, igniting his passion for leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
He was the key founder of three high growth technology startups ― all of which he led to successful exits. Kumar completed his doctoral degree in 2011 with a study on high-growth Asian American immigrant entrepreneurs. He has presented papers, conducted professional development workshops, and mentored entrepreneurs. Currently, he serves as a professor and Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Ying Wu College of New Jersey Institute of Technology. The recipient of many awards, Kumar was honored with the Ronald Reagan Gold Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership, named a Deloitte Fast 50 Technology Entrepreneur, and his company was ranked on the Inc. 500/5000 five times.
“Immigrants have made important contributions to the growth of the US economy and their contributions extend beyond high-tech and Fortune 500 firms,” said Nicholas Montalto, chair of the New Jersey Business Immigration Coalition Board, in the news release. “Throughout history, New Jersey’s immigrant entrepreneurs were responsible for iconic brands like Lipton Tea, Welch’s Grape Juice, Ballantine beer, and Colgate-Palmolive. We are pleased to be able to honor the leading NJ immigrant entrepreneurs of 2025.”
The New Jersey Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards are sponsored by the New Jersey Business Immigration Coalition, a broad-based coalition of New Jersey chambers, associations and organizations.
Brad Wadlow is a staff writer for MyCentralJersey.com