A young entrepreneur is lighting up a bright new future for himself after sniffing out an opportunity to apply his creative flair to the age-old tradition of candle making by capturing the spirit of Sheffield in wax form.
The Economic Recovery Fund (ERF) ran between February 2021 and April 2025. It was a unique, innovative grant fund that aims to support local economic recovery in local high streets by empowering local groups of businesses to implement changes themselves.
A sustainable and commercial business model, they provide power to over 100,000 people with bases in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria. They expect to reach one million customers within the next three years.
Based on eight years of research into insect brains by Sheffield University’s Professor Marshall and Dr Cope, Opteran was then launched in 2020 as a spin-out from the university’s Department of Computer Science.
Tecomet, a medical device and aerospace manufacturer, concentrating on castings, forgings and machinery has benefited from support through the Invest Sheffield team, leading to a referral to the Sheffield City Region Skills Bank.
Sheffield is the only European factory for the world’s largest aerospace company, Boeing, with a multi-million pound investment bringing new jobs and providing the region’s businesses with new supply chain opportunities.