ABi Clients Apply Their Entrepreneurial Know-How
ABi Associates, London’s leading Business Support Company this week announced the second winner of its version of the Dragons Den competition. The competition was designed as part of ABi’s work with unemployed individuals who have aspirations to become self-employed under the Job Centre Plus Six Months Self-Employment Offer initiative.
The winning team, Food Franchise Fair (3Fs) had developed a proposition of a 1-day exhibition for emerging & established take-away & fast food franchisors to meet with pre-vetted individuals interested in becoming a franchisee.Commenting on the individuals involved, Eco Everyday’s Co-Founder and one of the judges, Pritesh Patel said, “it was a great pleasure to be part of the Dragons Den competition and supporting individuals who are self-motivated and enthused to becoming self-employed. It just shows that with the appropriate support, we can unleash entrepreneurial potential of unemployed individuals here in Brent.”
Laurence Sofowora, ABi Senior Adviser has been impressed by the range of impressive business ideas generated by Job Centre clients referred to ABi. He said “it is refreshing that these clients are keen to do something for themselves and get off the ‘benefits’ train. The clients have shown their willingness to listen to advice, ask probing questions and ensure they have the required facts and knowledge so they start their businesses on a sound footing. The levels of presentations were impressive; the clients should keep up their motivation levels and be proud of their achievements on the Self Employment Offer Programme to date.”
Farooq Rauf, leader of the winning team Food Franchise Fair said “We came up with a very workable idea. It was interesting carrying out this presentation. The Dragons Den event was conducted in a professional manner. The feedback was constructive and the Panel shared their observations well. It was also a good exercise whereby we learned about working as a team and putting together a business plan.”
A member of the other team, Property Angels, Carolyn O’Toole said: “It was a good idea to hold this Dragons Den event. It made me think more about issues related to self-employment and that I also need to pay attention to finer details when I am planning my business. Presenting to the Panel gave me skills and confidence which will be of great value to me in the future.”
Individuals who participated:
Farooq Rauf (Willesden JCP), Ola Lasekan (Willesden JCP), Shahjahan Ahmad (Willesden JCP), Rosemary Ballet (Brent into Work), Carolyn O’Toole (Willesden JCP) and Amit Kumar (Wembley JCP).
For more information, please contact Laurence Sofowora. Tel: 0208 438 4550. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it