The winners of the East Midlands Real Entrepreneurs’ Awards 2025
The East Midlands Real Entrepreneurs’ Awards 2025 took over the Leonardo Hinckley Island Hotel, celebrating the region’s dynamic business leaders on 10 April, 2025. Now in its fourth year, the event recognised outstanding entrepreneurial talent from Leicester, Derby, and Nottingham.
With 27 exceptional finalists, the event showcased the diverse and innovative spirit of East Midlands businesses. The awards ceremony was set against the elegant backdrop of an afternoon tea occasion, providing sophisticated yet relaxed atmosphere for all attendees.
Jenny Cross, Founder of The Real Entrepreneurs’ Club and its awards, said: “Entrepreneurial success is not solely defined by profitability but by the capacity to drive transformative change. These awards serve as a platform for recognising individuals and organisations that exemplify innovation, perseverance, and community engagement. It is an honour to organise an event that shines a spotlight on their achievements and fosters meaningful connections among business leaders.”
Guests raised £1,000 during the event for The Real Entrepreneurs’ Awards charity partner The Zinthiya Trust. The money will be used to provide school uniforms to 50 local children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
A highlight of the event was the Pitching Platform, sponsored by Nelsons, where three startup founders presented their ventures. The audience voted for their favourite to receive legal and marketing mentorship from a non-executive board comprising Rik Pancholi (Partner, Pattersons Commercial Law) and Jenny Cross (CEO, Cross Productions).
This year’s Pitching Platform winner was SallyAnne Kirk, founder of Leicester Fashion District who impressed the audience with her ambitions and actionable plans to create a mapped fashion district in Leicester. The two other inspiring pitchers were Nikki Croxall of Rescue Partners, and Robert McKinna of Inclus Design.
Co-Founder of the Pitching Platform, Rik Pancholi, Partner and solicitor at Nelsons, said: “What SallAnne’s doing is pretty amazing and could have a really long lasting impact, so I’m going to be really proud to work with her. It’s great to have such an ambitious project of this scale to work on and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next from SallyAnne.”
Winner of the Pitching Platform, SallyAnne Kirk, Founder of Leicester Fashion District, said: “I just love Leicester and I don’t want to see our fashion industry die. For me, this is a legacy piece, so after I’m gone, that fashion district will be there and everyone will benefit from it for years to come. I was inspired to set up Leicester Fashion District when I was at De Montfort University studying fashion as a mature student during the fast fashion scandal.
“I’m from Leicester, my husband’s business is based here, our families live here, and I thought we can’t just let Leicester’s fashion industry die. It’s time to flip the switch and have a new fresh direction for fashion in Leicester. To other entrepreneurs, I’d say don’t give up. You might have knock backs – I’ve had them as well and – but just carry on. And be authentic. In a world where everything’s so fake and you don’t know what to believe, authenticity is the new black guys.”
Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan, founder of She Inspires Global, which headline sponsored the event, said: “I decided to headline sponsor of course because of the contribution that The Real Entrepreneurs’ Club and awards make to the East Midlands.
“I was especially motivated by the Pitching Platform because I love that kind of thing and that is what She Inspires does: supports female start-ups and so it was inspiring to see that two of today’s pitchers were female. But I am also inspired to see the quality of entrepreneurs in the room. The club and this event are about more than the awards, it creates that space where you can make connections and build relationships and businesses off the back of what happens here today, and it can be tremendous.”
The 2025 Award Winners:
- Entrepreneur for Good (Sponsored by Kazzoo IT)
– Tania Gerard, Tania Gerard Digital - Entrepreneurs’ Entrepreneur (Sponsored by AGR Law)
– Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan, The Zinthiya Trust - Scale-up Entrepreneur (Sponsored by End2End)
– Thomas Cropper, Tuk In Foods - Entrepreneurial Collaborator (Sponsored by Voyager)
– Jane Hearst, National Centre for Creative Health - International Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Solicitors4Landlords)
– Karen Mosley, KranLee Logistics - Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by Reason8)
– Rebecca Holders, Holders Estate Agents - Innovation in Entrepreneurship (Sponsored by LBC Mentoring)
– Rahul Sabbarwal, Luxe 360 Booths - Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by SAS Accounting Solutions)
– Henry Brogan, BidScript - Entrepreneurial Educator (Sponsored by ksabLAW)
– Tania Gerard, Tania Gerard Digital
The judging panel featured a notable group of industry leaders and business experts, including Sue Tilley, Linda Neville, James Belderbos, Gina Samuel-Richards, Leanne Bonner-Cooke, and Suraj Madlani. Their collective expertise and deep understanding of entrepreneurship ensured a rigorous evaluation process.
