Juyel Raaj-
The first British-Bangladeshi finalist of BBC reality show The Apprentice is Anisa Khan. Anisa Khan is a successful pizza company owner and a kabaddi player for the English national team in London. Mr. Yawar Khan is the chairman of the Asian Catering Federation.
She has made it to the final two out of more than 80,000 applicants in the initial stage. As the first British Bangladeshi entrepreneur, Anisa’s success has stirred up the Bangladeshi generation. Her ability to stand out among 80,000 competitors and talented applicants indicates her potential as a future leader in the business world. Anisa Khan’s story in this series has already become an inspiration to the British generation of Bangladeshi origin.
Speaking about the exciting moment of the final, Anisa told British media: ‘I know the final boardroom was the most important, but that was the moment where I was the calmest, because I think at that point, I was just talking about my business, and I knew, the final is about my business.
I knew I had done everything I could in a way that I had presented well, I had made my case, I had described the business.’ Despite not winning the show, Anisa has ‘no regrets’ and feels she did everything she could to make her mark. She said: ‘I can’t speak to everyone’s motives for going on the show, but I know from my own experience it was very much about winning the investment. That was the main reason I went on the show.
‘But, I think it’s also clear that if you’re going on TV, you’re in front of millions of viewers. ‘You want something, whether it’s for yourself or for your business. ‘So I achieved my goal by putting my pizza brand on national TV.
Bombay Pizza, founded five years ago, offers South Asian fusion pizzas for takeaway and postal delivery across the UK.
The business operates from a kitchen in Wallington, Sutton, UK. Popular dishes at Anisa’s Bombay Pizza include chicken tikka masala pizza and chilli paneer. Anisa, a British-Bangladeshi entrepreneur and graduate of the London School of Economics, started Bombay Pizza as a side project. She added that The Apprentice gave her a platform to share her story and she is now focused on expanding Bombay Pizza.
The Apprentice is a British business-style reality game show that has been broadcast by the BBC since 16 February 2005. The show focuses on a team of businessmen competing in a series of business-related challenges set by British business magnate Alan Sugar, in order to prove themselves worthy of the rewards he offers them. Sugar is assisted by two close business associates who act as observers to monitor the candidates’ work.
The winner of “The Apprentice” will receive a £250,000 investment in their business idea and a 50/50 partnership with Lord Alan Sugar. Lord Sugar has invested around £3 million in various successful businesses.
