Ansif Ashraf, who dared to beat his own path into the digital media world boldly when the whole world was hesitant to switch to the cyber world of new media, passed away on January 27 in Sharjah, the UAE. The date and venue of the funeral are yet to be finalised.
Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of Cochin Herald, he was a very successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, visionary and great human being. The publication was started by Ansif’s father late Dr. Sheikh Mohammed Ashraf, in 1992, which was then a Sunday newspaper in Malayalam from Kochi. Ansif knew the media industry inside out as he grew up watching his father manage the twin roles of Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director. Due to issues with the management, Ansif’s father was forced to step down.
Born on November 15, 1983, in Thane Maharashtra, Ansif began his career as a graphic designer in 2000 during the initial years of the dot com revolution in India. He later went on to establish Paradise Group in 2006, a trading firm dealing with rubber and carbon black. Two years later, he founded AGI Holdings, which was engaged in selling centrifuge separators.
It was in 2011 that Ansif won back the titles of the publication and came on board the Cochin Herald. Advice from experts from the field coupled with his perspective and conviction led him to transform the Cochin Herald from a weekly Malayalam newspaper to a bi-monthly English magazine in 2012.
In 2017 Ansif Ashraf founded Fly With Me Mobile App LLP, a company where he is the CEO.
At a time when international names are grabbing top spots in India, Ansif Ashraf managed to reverse the flow of business with his move to London. In 2017, Ansif Ashraf acquired the Intellectual Property Rights of the British Herald.
It was sheer foresight that led Mr Ansif Ashraf to make a giant leap from print media to digital journalism. He was responsible for remodeling the British Herald as an online news and information delivery platform. The British Herald featured Borris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, on its cover page, and was launched by the PM himself.
The magazine began publishing in 2019 and the same year, the British Herald hosted the Business and Leadership Awards at Rosewood London. Some notable winners of the awards were London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Lord Rami Ranger, Gopichand Hinduja, Fashion Designer Karen Millen and Hollywood Actor Ali Fazal.
The British Herald has emerged as a leading global online magazine, sold via Magzter, the world’s largest digital newsstand. British Herald is also a media partner of Asia Cup Polo. It is owned by the Herald Media Network Limited, Ansif Ashraf’s London-based company, which also owns the Intellectual Property Rights and Digital Property of the European Herald, which is yet to be launched.
In 2020, Mr Ashraf acquired the digital property rights of Asianherald.com. Asian Herald was founded back in 2001. Recently, Starfold Media Network FZC acquired the media license for the Asian Herald in the UAE in 2020. Its license was issued by the National Media Council of UAE, to be based in the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone. Mr Ansif Ashraf decided to bring all four publications – the British Herald, European Herald, the Asian Herald and the World Herald – under a single umbrella – Starfold Media Network.
Mr Ansif Ashraf’s business prudence, paired with his expertise and love for challenges, had brought him several laurels to his name. He was chosen as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) e-Business Champion for his empowering ride of taking eCommerce from an idea to a global business.
In 2013, the Times of India awarded him as the Brand Icon for his brilliance. He was awarded the Engage 2019 Digital Innovation Award by the Public Relation Society of India and the Telegraph Daily. Mr Ashraf was a member of the London Press Club and a former patron of the British Library.
With print media struggling to survive and more and more people taking to the digital world and digital media, Mr Ansif, who understood the pulse of the tech world managed to integrate with all his brands. Giving a global edge to his dreams, Mr Ansif had acquired the World Herald and planned to launch Starfold Media Network into the world of blockchain. Ansif will be greatly missed by the media fraternity in India, the UAE and the UK.
