BBC's The Apprentice star Khadija Kalifa from Bourne has her sights set on new business opportunities with former Peterborough winner Joseph Valente

Former Apprentice candidate Khadija Kalifa has her sights set on new ventures following her appearance on the BBC business show.

The entrepreneur had ambitions to expand her eco-cleaning business into London but narrowly missed out on a place in the final and the chance to win a £250,000 investment from Lord Alan Sugar.

She has now taken Lord Sugar’s advice and “scaled back dramatically” to rebuild the brand and may even sell off the business to pursue other interests.

Khadija, a mother of two, said: “I built something up from nothing but running a services business and employing staff takes up a lot of time.

“Lord Sugar saw that and gave me some advice which I’ve taken on board.

“Being away from my children for so long while I was filming made me realise that I need to give my all to them over the next few years.”

While Khadija weighs up her options, Opal and Pearl continues to grow steadily and has attracted interest from social housing companies in Peterborough who are looking to buy into the services.

Khadija, who has moved from Stamford to Bourne since the programme aired, said: “The business is still growing but I’m also doing other things I enjoy.

“I do a lot of talks at schools and universities and would love to get into radio presenting or build up a property portfolio.”

The 29-year-old’s future plans also include launching business networking events with former Apprentice winner Joseph Valente.

He runs the plumbing business ImpraGas in Peterborough and won the show in 2015 but parted with Lord Sugar two years later.

Khadija said: “We have both built businesses from nothing and know how difficult and how great it can be.

“We want to bring something fresh and current to business networking rather than sitting in a stuffy boardroom. As Apprentice candidates we could bring something of value.”

The pair have looked at venues in Peterborough with a view to hosting themed social events and hope to launch as early as next month.