STUDENT NEWS

Leicester student and entrepreneur Suleman Sacranie.

Young entrepreneur on a roll as he launches his third start-up business

University of Leicester student launches third enterprise

Issued 30 June 2010

Young entrepreneur Suleman Sacranie, an undergraduate student of the University of Leicester, has announced the launch of his third start-up company.

His new business venture, 99p shopper is an online food and drink store that will ship across the EU. It is targeted at ex-patriots who want to buy branded British goods at affordable prices. The business launches on 5 July, just after his twenty-first birthday.

Having launched his business on a £100,000 investment and secured the services of one of the UK’s largest supermarkets, Suleman hopes the new company will continue to grow. In the next five years, he plans to franchise his company into 100 retail outlets within rural areas.

Recalling his days growing up in his father’s cornershop, Suleman hopes his business will help families, students and others struggling in the current economic climate. It was his experiences during this time that first sparked his entrepreneurial spirit, inherited from his father.

Suleman’s business expertise has progressively flourished through a combination of independent opportunism and learning from his mistakes. It is a strategy that has seen him follow his dreams and launch three start-up businesses:

• ZS Media Tech, an initiative educating young people about knife and gun crime and providing software with children’s safety technology

• Pixelsstream.com, a company selling online advertising space

• 99pshopper, an online food and drink store

Suleman caught the eye of the media last year when he pitched his idea to the BBC Dragons’ Den for a business that steered young people away from knife and gun crime. His online pitch was pivotal; it also caught the eye of an American investor, with whom he managed to secure a £50,000 deal for his new business.

Passionate about getting young people into business, Suleman has been heavily involved with supporting fellow enterprising students at the University of Leicester, where he is a chemistry undergraduate. The University supplied Suleman with a business support package worth over £5000 for his venture, which was provided through the Enterprise Inc project. Managed by the East Midlands Incubation Network (EMIN), Enterprise Inc is funded by a partnership of the region’s nine Universities, the European Regional Development Fund and the East Midlands Development Agency (emda). For Suleman, their funding became a catalyst for securing further investment.

Suleman also worked with the University to develop new opportunities. Working together with Rajinder Bhuhi, Enterprise Learning Officer they recently won a bid that saw original Dragon Doug Richard hosting a business masterclass at the University. Again, working collaboratively Suleman and Business and Enterprise team, at the University of Leicester, are currently busy working to grow and develop the Leicester Entrepreneurs Student Society, which helps students put their business ideas into action.

Rajinder commented: “Suleman has been a pleasure to work with. He is what they call a ‘born salesman’ demonstrating his business ideas with passion and dedication. His confidence and commitment has inspired his peers and he has been generous in giving his support.”

Having spent the past 10 months developing his new start-up business, finding the best web company and creating an online presence, Suleman is in high anticipation of the launch: “I am very excited about the launch of my new start up business 99p Shopper. More and more people are shopping online, and there is a huge market for a business like this. Internet shopping is the way forward, and businesses have to go with the developments in technology.”

The Leicester Entrepreneurs Student Society is currently recruiting members, whilst Enterprise Inc has just opened its applications for the next year. For more information, contact Rajinder Bhuhi at the University.

NOTE TO NEWSDESK

For more information please contact Suleman Sacranie at Sacranie@ntlworld.com

Rajinder Bhuhi, Enterprise Learning Officer, Student Development, University of Leicester

Tel: 0116 2297697

rkb14@le.ac.uk

About ERDF nationally

The ERDF Programme aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the European Union by supporting regional economic development.

The ERDF objectives for England are:

• Promoting innovation and knowledge transfer
• Stimulating enterprise and supporting successful business
• Ensuring sustainable development, production and consumption
• Building sustainable communities
• Improving accessibility and connectivity (for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly only – as part of their Convergence Programme).

A Programme Monitoring Committee consisting of regional stakeholders such as Government Offices, RDAs, Regional Assemblies, Local Authorities, Sub-regional Partnerships, Higher Education Institutions, Trade Unions, and the private and voluntary sectors will monitor and oversee programme implementation in each region.

For more information on ERDF funding generally, please visit www.communities.gov.uk/citiesandregions/european/europeanregionaldevelopment/

or http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funds/feder/index_en.htm

About ERDF in the East Midlands

The East Midlands is eligible for €268.5m (approximately £210m at current exchange rates) between 2007 and 2013, which when combined with match funding, provides a programme value of approximately £420m – a significant investment in the economic development of the region.

The East Midlands qualifies as a competitiveness and employment region under the EU’s Cohesion Policy, which aims to meet the EU Lisbon objective to become ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social inclusion.’

East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is responsible for the programme management and delivery of the region’s 2007-13 ERDF Competitiveness Programme. The responsibility for ERDF programme management was transferred from the Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM) to emda following a decision by the UK Government to seek greater alignment between

ERDF and regional strategies and funding streams. The 2007-13 ERDF Programme is therefore set firmly within the framework of the Regional Economic Strategy.

A Programme Monitoring Committee, chaired by the Regional Director of Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM), guides the strategic direction of the programme and works closely with emda.

To find out more about ERDF, the region’s strategy for delivering the funds, how to apply for funding and how the programme is managed, please visit www.eastmidlandserdf.org.uk

About emda

East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development.

Working in partnership with public, private and voluntary organisations, the aim is to deliver the 2006 Regional Economic Strategy (RES) A Flourishing Region, which sets out regional priorities until 2020.

The RES, co-ordinated by emda, highlights the themes of productivity, sustainability and equality and builds on the previous two strategies; Prosperity Through People and Destination 2010.

In early 2007 the National Audit Office announced that emda had received the highest possible grade of ‘performing strongly’ in an independent assessment of our work – scoring 22 out of 24.

For more details visit www.emda.org.uk

Emma Howard