Bourne woman in The Apprentice
The Bourne owner of an eco cleaning firm is set to compete to be Lord Sugar's next business partner on BBC's The Apprentice.
Khadija Kalifa, who runs Opal and Pearl Eco Cleaning Services, has been announced as one of 16 candidates in the next series, which starts on BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday, October 3.
She told the BBC: "Whatever I say I’m going to make happen happens. I’m a serious Mumpreneur who doesn’t have time for timewasters and idiocy."
Having run her own eco-friendly cleaning business for the past three years, which is now based in Peterborough, Khadija considers her people skills to be her best business asset. She told the BBC that "her friends would describe her as being quick-witted, motivational and genuinely wanting to help others but she can have a bit of a ‘hot head’."
She looks up to Richard Branson in business for ‘his success and willingness to assist others’ and plans to be likeable but focused, though says she can be cut-throat when required.
Baroness Karren Brady and Claude Littner resume duties on the popular show as Lord Sugar's eyes and ears on each of the tasks, reporting back on the candidates’ every decision in the boardroom.
This year, the award-winning series will be bigger and better than ever, as Lord Sugar ups the ante right from the start and warns the candidates to “expect the unexpected”. For his first challenge, Lord Sugar immediately sends the candidates abroad - with a strong word of warning ringing in their ears: “Remember, this is NOT a holiday”.
Straight from the first boardroom, the business hopefuls jet off to Malta, tasked with buying nine items at the lowest possible prices.
It’s not just foreign tasks that Lord Sugar has up his sleeve. For this series, he is also sending the candidates around the UK; to Glasgow to sell art, Birmingham to clinch deals at a Body Building Expo and back to London to launch a budget airline.
The candidates come from a broad range of backgrounds; from law, tax and arboriculture (tree surgery) to fashion design, marketing and sport. However, they all have one thing in common, a desire to secure a £250,000 investment in their business plan and win a partnership with Lord Sugar.