Syed Ahmed (businessman)

Syed Ahmed (Bengali: সৈয়দ আহমেদ; born 17 September 1974) is an Entrepreneur, Presenter [1] and Television Personality.[2] He is the founder and CEO of British technology company SAVORTEX. He is best known for being a contestant in the 2006 series of The Apprentice.

Syed Ahmed
সৈয়দ আহমেদ
Syed Ahmed in 2019
Born (1974-09-17) 17 September 1974
Sylhet, Bangladesh
NationalityBritish
Alma materSir John Cass Redcoat School
Ealing, Hammersmith and West
Known forCandidate on 'The Apprentice'
Award Winning Entrepreneur
Charity Work with Water Aid
Notable work
Awarded British Bangladeshi Power & Inspire 100 Innovator awarded at the Houses of Parliament
AwardsAsian Entrepreneur of the Year 2015
Websitesyed-ahmed.com

Background

Syed was born in Sylhet, Bangladesh.[3] When he was nine months old, he moved with his parents to the United Kingdom and was brought up in East London.[4]

Syed is the founder and CEO of Savortex, which specialises in Guinness world record holding energy efficient and world's first IoT connected (internet of things) Smart and digital advertising hand dryers.[5]

Syed has built a network of investors, he raised in excess of £1.5m to support the global expansion of Savortex which enabled him to grow the technology start-up. With over 400 projects deployed globally the company continues to go from strength to strength. Ahmed initially financed the business himself.[6]

As a professional speaker, Syed regularly makes speeches to the young business enterprise community,[7][8] and the more general enterprise community in Britain[9] and more recently at the cleaning Show at the London Excel Exhibition centre.[1]

The Apprentice
Further information: The Apprentice (UK series two)

Ahmed appeared as a candidate in series two of The Apprentice, a British reality television show hosted by Lord Alan Sugar. The series was broadcast from February to May 2006. On the show, Syed was a member of the "Invicta" team. He had won 5 out of 10 tasks. He was fired in week 10 in which he was accused of setting up unpopular activities on the Princess Ship, however claimed the expulsion was unfair and that he had contributed more than fellow contestant Ruth Badger.

One of his quotes on the show was "£100,000 salary is not enough but it's a good place to start."[10]

Post Apprentice

Ahmed appeared on Sky News as a paper reviewer – reviewing current and forthcoming newspapers in a celebrity panel. He also has appeared on interviews, at BBC Breakfast with candidate Jo Cameron on the BBC,[11] and also at GMTV. He appeared on Sky One's program called The Match, where 80 celebrities take part to win a place in a celebrity football squad.

A Sky One documentary (from June 2007) called, Syed Ahmed - Hot Air?, featured Ahmed attempting to launch a new company which specialised in hand and body dryers, with £20,000 of his own money, to develop in three months.[12][13] The program followed the launch of the SA Vortex's hand dryer products.[14]

Charity work

Syed is an ambassador for international charity WaterAid supporting projects all over the world and Bangladesh.[4] His company Savortex has also raised money by partnering with international charity Water Aid where Syed and his team climbed mountains and funded projects in Bangladesh villages planting water pumps for clean water [15]

Awards and nominations

Syed was Awarded British Bangladeshi Power & Inspire 100 Innovator 2017, awarded at the Houses of Parliament. In January 2015, he was nominated and won the Entrepreneur of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.[16]

See also

References
  1. "Syed Presenting at The Cleaning Show 2019".
  2. "Monkey goes to the National TV Awards". The Guardian. London. 1 November 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  3. Wylie, Ian (8 February 2006). "Sugar begins hunt for new Apprentice". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  4. Hussain, Ali (31 December 2006). "Apprentice star gets a taste for the high life". The Sunday Times. London. Born in Bangladesh, he arrived in Britain when he was nine months old.
  5. "SAVortex Presentation" (PDF). SA Vortex. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  6. "Former Apprentice Raises £1.5 million".
  7. "Report on Isle of Wight Young Chamber Conference 2006". Young Chamber. 2006. Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  8. "University of Oxford Special: Oxford University's Trading Places". MCC. 28 April 2008. Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  9. "Herts Connections - Syed Ahmed". DanStorey.com (Blog). 8 September 2008. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2009.
  10. Haigh, Gerald (2008). Inspirational, and Cautionary Tales for Would-be School Leaders: Tales for Would-be School Leaders. Routledge. p. 138.
  11. "You're fired..." BBC News. 10 May 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  12. Mangan, Lucy (20 June 2007). "Last night's TV: Syed Ahmed - Hot Air?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  13. "Syed Ahmed - Hot Air". Twofour Broadcast. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  14. Snell, Louise. "Syed Ahmed - Hot Air". Asian Business Federation. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  15. "Charity relay sets world record". BBC News. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  16. "British Muslim Awards 2015 finalists unveiled". Asian Image. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
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