A Manchester business leader who wants to create another tech 'unicorn' in the North West has been named one of the winners of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation's 2025 Young Entrepreneurs awards.
This year's triumphant trio of the UK's most promising young start-up founders includes two tech business creators and a social housing developer in Wales.
Sir Stelios, the foundation's head, expressed his delight at the response from young UK entrepreneurs this year, with entries totalling 180 - more than twice the previous year's count.
He said: "Once again there have been some astonishing and inspiring success stories that we have uncovered, demonstrating that entrepreneurship is alive and well in the UK among the young generation."
Stelios, the brains behind the "easy" brand family – including Easyjet – started these awards last year to back worthy business causes that hit close to home. The winners are rewarded with a financial boost and guidance from the billionaire founder himself, as reported by City AM.
He said: "I think [the winners are] great role models for others to start their own business.... that is how new jobs are created in the real economy."
Ayan Mohamed clinched the top award of £150,000 for her firm Digitech Oasis, specialising in autonomous robots designed to assist with logistical and manual business operations, such as product picking in warehouses.
Having launched her first enterprise as a teenager, she went on to establish Digitech in 2022, which now boasts a team of 25.
She said: "I really want to build something big with my business. We're building Manchester's next unicorn and I'm excited to continue this journey to IPO."
Dorian Payne and his firm Castell Group clinched the second prize of £100,000, The company collaborates with local authorities and housing associations to construct vital social housing in South Wales.
Payne plans to leverage the prize funds to facilitate more social housing projects and commented on the impact of the award: "It will help us... to scale nationally and help tackle the housing crisis. It also helps get us exposure in a difficult market.
"With over 1.5m people on the housing waiting lists, we are on a mission to deliver much-needed social housing."
Andy Evangelou, founder of Plug In Stations, secured third place with his venture that offers EV charging solutions.
His company is dedicated to aiding customers in the shift to electric vehicles by bridging the gap between technological advancements and practical accessibility for EV users.
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