31 Jan Herts alumnus Frederick Afrifa a contestant on this year’s ‘The Apprentice’
A former Herts student is putting his entrepreneurial skills to the ultimate test as a contestant on the new series of BBC’s The Apprentice.
Herts alumnus Frederick Afrifa, 29, from Milton Keynes, who studied accounting and French and graduated in 2019, is one of 18 new candidates hoping to win over business mogul Lord Alan Sugar to secure a £250,000 investment.
A motivational speaker and co-founder of professional training and coaching company Believe in Greatness, Frederick says he went on the popular reality game show, now in season 19, to expand his company with “with the purpose to help more professionals and entrepreneurs with their confidence when speaking”.
An Apprentice fan since childhood, he first applied to go on the show in 2023. However, he was retained as a “reserve” candidate, which meant he was next on the list if any of the other contestants dropped out. But no-one did.
“It was heartbreaking because initially around 80,000 people apply and then 10% of those will be invited to London for first auditions,” Frederick explains. “Then, 18 candidates are selected, along with a few reserves.
“But after I was rejected in 2023, I worked harder – working for big companies including Shell and with the government of the British Virgin Islands. When I reapplied, it was undeniable that I had made incredible progress, and I was a candidate.”
Frederick’s resilience and determination has benefitted him throughout his life. Born in Milan, Italy, he lived there with his parents and two younger sisters before moving to UK at the age of 12, after his father lost his job.
“We moved to Brixton, in South London, where we all lived in a single room in a three-bedroom house shared by other families,” Frederick explains.
“I also had to learn how to speak English – I understood the language, but I could not speak very well. I would often pronounce a word incorrectly and people would laugh at me.
“So, I had to really observe the way people communicate and say certain words and then try and imitate them while learning from my mistakes.”
Frederick says the importance of the ability to speak well became more apparent at University when he was asked to deliver a presentation – something he hadn’t done before.
He said: “We had to speak in front of our lecturers, and it was super nerve-wracking, and that was an introduction of what was to come.
“Communication skills are often overlooked, and I see firsthand the impact it can have on people’s lives.
“My goal is to help people overcome their fear in public speaking – which can often stop them from achieving their potential.”
He said it was also through his University studies that he began to realise his entrepreneurial talent.
“Herts provided a lot of incentives and initiatives to help me get out of my comfort zone and gave me the right foundations to help build a successful career,” Frederick says.
“It sowed a seed of hope, optimism, and belief that the sky was truly limit.”
Surprisingly, however, business wasn’t the career he’d intended to pursue while at Herts. A talented athlete, specialising in sprinting, Frederick was determined to go professional after graduating, juggling the intense physical training required around his studies. It paid off, with him signing his first professional contract in athletics during his final year at the Herts and representing Italy during the European Championship.
But when the pandemic hit, the businessman’s dreams of becoming a sports star took a backseat as competitive events were cancelled or postponed.
“It felt a bit like fall from grace,” he admits. “But rather than trying to do things to fill my time, like watching TV, I reached out to a few primary schools in my area, offering students to speak for free.
“And one school said, ‘oh we have a budget, we could pay you’.”
This marked the start of his career in public speaking and in 2022, he co-founded Believe in Greatness and was soon working with corporations such Sky, Shell Energy and BT and clients from all over the world.
Frederick believes it was his “resilience” and “not being scared to fail” that helped him hone his skills as a businessman and a global motivational speaker.
“The University was a good starting point for helping me build my skills because I had to speak to many people from different cultures and backgrounds and come out of my comfort zone.
“Also, having mentors like Rex Obeng – a young African who has gone through his own struggles – was very helpful to me because my teachers were not only relatable, but they were also proof that just because I am who I am, it doesn’t mean I can’t achieve my dreams.”
Rexford Obeng, Deputy Associate Dean for Undergraduate Student Experience, said: “Now and then you come across students who have the potential to realise their dreams early in life, and Fred is one of those students. He had the right blend of character and life experiences. He did not waste time in exploring what life could offer, despite the challenges he faced. It did not surprise me when he mentioned to me that he will be on The Apprentice and I will be rooting for him to go all the way!”
According to Frederick, “investing in yourself” is the “the most important thing” young people and Herts students can do to ensure future success.
“I think as young people, we can be a bit impatient – as a student, I remember thinking of the best and quickest way to make money.
“But in fact, the best investment I made was in myself. So for example, instead of spending five hours watching Netflix or playing games on PlayStation or scrolling on social media, I would go to a networking event and meet and get advice from people I looked up to.
“Everything changed when I started investing in myself. I built the habits, mindset, and resilience that made success inevitable.”
Season 19 of The Apprentice is on every Thursday at 9pm on BBC One.
