Dragons' Den-style scheme aims to boost city jobs

5 hours ago

Richard PriceWest Midlands

News image — Mo Chaudry said he was investing £5m of his own money into the scheme

Mo Chaudry A man wearing a black polo shirt, is leaning on a yellow piece of gym equipment. He has short dark hair and smiles showing his teeth while his left hand rests on his right forearm. — Mo Chaudry said he was investing £5m of his own money into the scheme

An entrepreneur says he will use £5m of his own money in a Dragons' Den-style investment competition to support local businesses.

Mo Chaudry, the former owner of Waterworld in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, is launching the scheme which he said was aimed at creating jobs and boosting the long-term prosperity of the city.

Chaudry has lived in the area for more than 40 years, after he came to the UK from Pakistan.

He did not start school until the age of nine, but said he went on to make his first £1m before he was 30.

"Stoke-on-Trent is a city with a proud industrial heritage and the place where a true hero of mine, Josiah Wedgwood, built his pottery empire," Chaudry said.

"He didn't just create a world-class business; he lobbied government, invested in infrastructure like the Trent and Mersey Canal and helped put this city on the global map."

He claimed decades of underinvestment and limited access to funding had held back businesses in the city, and he wanted to "help create the next Josiah Wedgwood of our time".

Under the project, the organisation used to run it, Momentum Capital, will invest up to £250,000 into each company with the businesses ranging in the stage of their lifespan they are at - from well-established firms to start-ups and early-stage ventures.

A view of a city's skyline showing a building with multi-coloured glass panels next to several big buildings, some with windows - and over them, a tall, square, cream building with windows in its centre. — Chaudry said his aim was to show people did not have to leave Stoke-on-Trent in order to succeed

Chaudry, 65, said he was investing his own money into the scheme, which is being supported by Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce.

The project is open to company founders from all backgrounds and is due to launch on Wednesday with applications due to close on 30 March.

Shortlisted businesses will be invited to pitch to Chaudry and his team, with successful businesses then matched with mentors from the chambers of commerce.

Over the first five years, the scheme was expected to support about 20 companies, with an average of 10 jobs per business, meaning about 200 jobs would be supported, Chaudry claimed.

"I want this fund to help create jobs and build aspirations - and prove you don't have to leave Stoke-on-Trent to succeed in business," he said.

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