Latif wins Stelios disabled entrepreneur prize

Amar Latif

This is the latest chapter in an amazing story. By Tim Cooper, editor, email newsletters, CIMA.

Blind businessman Amar Latif is the first recipient of the Stelios Disabled Entrepreneur Award.

The award, from easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannau, is the latest chapter in an extraordinary story for Latif, who has completed his CIMA examinations and practical experience. He also won the Outstanding Young Business Entrepreneur of the World in 2005.

Latif, now 33, summed up his own background laughingly: ‘My parents are from Pakistan, I’m Scottish, I’m blind and I have a terrible sense of humour, so I tick all the boxes.’

No barriers

None of these things have stopped Latif achieving some incredible goals in his life and work.

After leaving university, there were a couple of (blatantly discriminatory) rejections in the job market. But rather than becoming bitter, he developed strategies for turning the situation to his advantage in the job interview. He even created his own introductory presentation about how his blindness would not hinder him in the job, but rather be an asset to the company.

This persistence paid off and eventually he accepted a job with BT Mobile (now O2). He then moved onto its management accountancy programme in Leeds, UK, where he still lives.

Latif completed his CIMA examinations in 2001 after the usual hard stint of work and study. As BT Mobile was separating, he moved across to BT and ‘did quite well out of it’ – eventually heading up a finance team and working with former BT finance director and past president of CIMA, Claire Ighodaro.

Business skills

‘BT was very good because you got a lot of responsibility and career opportunities. Every year I kept moving on. I was really happy being an accountant. It was very fulfilling, but when other opportunities presented themselves, I took them on as well,’ said Latif.

The biggest opportunity was to start up his own company, called Traveleyes, which takes blind and sighted people on tours abroad together.

‘I’m able to take my CIMA skills with me because I’m the accountant as well as the managing director. You need a certain level of financial management to be successful. I also picked up a lot of general skills, which is one of the beauties of choosing CIMA over ACCA. It gives you a rounded perspective about, for example, whether a business idea is profitable or not. With various aspects of Traveleyes, I’m remembering things that I did with CIMA, which perhaps I didn’t even apply with BT.’

How did he get started? ‘I was quite dissatisfied with what was out there for blind travellers - there was very little apart from a few charities who dabbled in it. If you were blind, you couldn't simply browse a website and book yourself a flight. You had to rely on your friends and family to take you to places. So I created a little experiment. I put an advert in a local university for someone who’d like to be subsidised in travelling to Thailand and Malaysia with me.

‘It worked really well. I had a Lonely Planet travel guide on a format that my computer could read. Based on that, and my own knowledge, I drove the itinerary of the trip and I felt so fulfilled.’

Independent philosophy

That experience persuaded him to set up Traveleyes. The company has grown rapidly and even plans to expand outside the UK.

It was deliberately set up as a private company rather than a charity or social enterprise.

‘Why should someone have to go to a charity just because they are blind?’ said Latif. ‘You want to feel independent and that you’re paying your own way. This philosophy runs through the whole company. Blind people are not charity cases. They’re mostly professional individuals who can’t see. That’s the only difference.

‘They’re seeking a lot of knowledge as well. So we formed the first exclusive collaboration with Lonely Planet guides to publish accessible CD guides which blind travellers can download to their PDAs and browse.’

Technology is becoming a fantastic enabler for blind people, especially with the development of satellite navigation and Braille functions on computers and hand-held devices.

Amar Latif

Illuminating the world for someone who can’t see

Latif is working with software companies to help develop technology further. There is now a device available with country maps which he uses on some of his tours.

'Let’s say we’re in California. I load up the LA map and when we’re on the tour bus, it tells you all the different landmarks we’re passing, the street names and how long before reaching our destination. It’s especially helpful in a country like Cuba or Spain where I don’t speak the language fluently.'

Traveleyes has a full schedule of tours for 2008 and wants to attract more sighted travellers, who get a discount of between a quarter and half of the full price.

Sighted travellers benefit from Traveleyes in many other ways as well. ‘They come from all walks of life - students, corporate workers, entrepreneurs, sports people, and retired people. But they all say that the main attraction is travelling with other people and making friends,’ said Latif.

‘Sighted guides are given full training about how to guide blind people. But sighted travellers are on holiday as well. You’re not a carer and it’s not a job. You’re just a set of eyes for someone and this is very rewarding - illuminating the world for someone who can’t see. As a blind person, you remember the picture that someone has painted in you mind, a beautiful sunset or a Hawaiian sea.

‘A lot of our sighted travellers say that the description they give helps them to pick up on things that they would usually have missed.

‘When they get back they have more to offer their companies as well, having learned so much from the experience that they can put into their lives.’

Does Latif have any tips for CIMA members or students hoping to become entrepreneurs? ‘The important thing is to find something that you are passionate about.

‘Think about how your business will look in a few years’ time. It is almost like being the captain of a large ship. You need to be aware of what’s coming. At Traveleyes, we try to look at how we’re going to be in three to five years’ time.’

It was this type of vision that won him the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2005 for setting up Traveleyes. It was an incredibly hectic time for him.

‘I didn’t sleep much!’ he said. ‘The award was presented in Vienna. We were out there for three days with my family. There were people from 120 countries and obviously I love travelling and meeting people, so it was amazing for me. It is such a prestigious award, I felt quite humbled. It was great to be recognised for what I was doing, but I didn’t really feel like I deserved it.’

Brilliant career

Latif’s career has known no bounds since then. He has gone on to star in an extraordinary reality TV show and dabble in acting. 

The reality show (on BBC2) involved crossing the Nicaraguan jungle with a group of other disabled people.

‘We started at the Atlantic, went to the Pacific. As soon as the sun rose, we began working our way through this dense jungle. I felt like I wasn’t going to complete it. It was extremely hot and my task was to push someone else’s wheelchair – I’ve put on weight since then! But it was a really enjoyable experience.’

This year, he acted in an Adam and Shelly sitcom and even persuaded Channel 4 to let him direct a TV series called Sightseeing Blind. ‘Channel 4 was a bit sceptical about a blind TV director and I don’t know whether my answer shocked them a bit – 'I’m blind, I can’t watch any TV programmes, so I might as well make some!’ They went along with it.

The TV director

‘Being a director is about taking a great story and telling it in an intriguing way. We took a lady in her 50s from Bradford who had recently become blind, and paired her with a 21 year old dude from Brixton who had never travelled before. We took them both to Florence and his task was to translate art, her passion, to her. They were both going on an amazing journey, both fish out of water. It was in line with Traveleyes to an extent, but we don’t do mismatches like that!’

Not surprisingly, Latif has been the subject of media attention himself. Did he ever imagine he would achieve all these things by the age of 33?

‘I don’t think wow, I’ve achieved these things. I just think I’m not moving forward as fast as I’d like to. I have this drive. People need to remember to grasp the opportunities. You have to step out of your comfort zone. Most people are happy with their nine to five jobs, but if they have the passion, my advice would be to get out there. There are risks having your own business, but it’s exhilarating.’

The answer to the ‘what’s next for you?’ question didn’t disappoint. ‘I’m considering a proposal to do a bungee jump as part of the 2012 Para Olympics opening ceremony!’ he replied.

Sighted travellers interested in joining Traveleyes tours should register for free and with no commitment at the Traveleyes website.

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December 2007

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