University of Bradford to launch Dragon's Den concept

The university is aiming to become the UK’s number one destination for entrepreneurs.

The Bradford-Renduchintala Enterprise Ecosystem (BREE) will provide financial and mentoring support from business leaders to help young entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur Sarwat Murtaza, founder of Ethimaart, who is being mentored by the University of Bradford. (Image: University of Bradford)

BREE has been made possible thanks to a £1.25 million donation from alumnus Dr Murthy Renduchintala, and a further £1.25 million from the university.

It will be open to students, staff and members of the community, who will be able to pitch ideas and bid for grants.

Dr Renduchintala, a former Qualcomm and Intel executive, said: “What we are trying to do with BREE is to emulate what has been popular and prolific in many areas of the US and other parts of the world, where academic research ultimately leads towards ground-breaking transformations in real life.

University of Bradford alumnus Dr Murthy Renduchintala, who donated £1.25 million to launch BREE. (Image: University of Bradford)

“Think of how Google or Facebook started. This was entrepreneurs in the making who were doing research and undergraduate projects who decided to take those ideas and make them into game-changing commercial entities.

“But they required a support environment and a gathering of advisers and well-wishers that could chaperone those plans. That’s what we are trying to do here.”

BREE will officially launch on January 24, the event being attended by Dr Renduchintala, who studied at the university from 1983 to 1991, before a successful career in the telecommunications, computing and semiconductor industry in the US.

BREE will aim to establish the University of Bradford as the leading university for innovation in the UK and a destination of choice for entrepreneurially-minded students.

BREE director Professor Paul Thorning chats to entrepreneurs. (Image: University of Bradford)

It will focus on research and innovation to develop businesses and products that have sustainable economic value.

Two women have spoken about how the University of Bradford has helped mentor them.

Sarwat Murtaza founded Ethimaart, an online curated giftshop which sells ethically sourced handmade products.

She said: "The University of Bradford has played a pivotal role in my entrepreneurial journey.

The kind of personalised one-to-one support they give and the networking events we attend have been tremendously helpful."

Agnes Aliri, founder TiwaOma. (Image: University of Bradford)

Agnes Aliri founded TiwaOma, which creates wigs for black children and women experiencing hair loss.

She said: "Running a start-up can be lonely at times, so being able to interact with other founders who are going through the same journey as I am has been really helpful for me.

"If it was not for the University of Bradford, I would not be where I am today. Without this support, I would have maybe given up on my dream."