Henley teaching fellow wins ABH Coleman Prize

A business historian from Henley Business School has won a prestigious prize.

Teaching fellow Dr Akram Beniamin, who specialises in entrepreneurship and international business in developing countries, was recognised by the Association of Business Historians (ABH) for his doctoral thesis investigating commodity networks, foreign banking and business networks of Egypt in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

The ABH Coleman Prize, named in honour of business historian Donald Coleman, is awarded annually by a panel of experts for the best PhD thesis in business history completed in or about Britain. This is the second time a Henley Business School academic has received the accolade since the prize was introduced in 2000, after Dr Joe Lane won it in 2019.

Dr Beniamin said:

"I have always been interested in business history and I was eager to capitalise on the strength of the Centre for International Business History at Henley Business School. There, I found support from my supervisors, along with other members of the Centre, which went far beyond their call of duty.
"Researching business history in a developing country posed extra challenges, given the dearth of sources. Yet, it is fascinating when you see that hard work pay off."

Dr Beniamin’s work has also been presented at many international conferences, such as the Business History Conference, Association of Business Historians, and Reading-UNCTAD International Business Conference.

Professor Lucy Newton, Dr Beniamin’s PhD supervisor at Henley, said:

“Little business history research is conducted about Africa and the Middle East due to the problem of obtaining historical sources relating to these areas. Therefore, Akram's research really pushes the boundaries in terms of extending existing knowledge in business history.
“A paucity of archival material has meant that Akram has been very creative and original in the types of sources and methodologies that he has used for his thesis. The faculty and the entire business school wish to congratulate Dr Beniamin for his award.”