The Apprentice hopeful Souleyman Bah is inspired by Ray Charles

‘The Apprentice’ hopeful Souleyman Bah is inspired by Ray Charles.
The 20-year-old motivational speaker and para-athlete was diagnosed with Retina Pigmentosa – a genetic disorder which causes loss of vision – at the age of six, and the late blues legend, who was blind by age seven, gave Souleyman the confidence to achieve his dreams despite his disability.
He said: "[Ray] made blindness cool and achieved immense success despite his disability."
The candidates have been revealed for the upcoming BBC One series and Souleyman – who trains as a sprinter with the Great Britain Paralympic Olympic Team – revealed he will be as brutally honest and bold as he needs to be to keep Lord Sugar’s attention.
He added: "The less sight I have, the more imagination I gain, because what you see is what you see and what you don’t see is when the magic begins."
The show returns next Wednesday (02.10.19), and Souleyman faces competition from the likes of charted engineer Shahin Hasaan, 36, who credits Tesla boss Elon Musk as his role model.
He said: "I love business more than sharks love blood… I’m ruthless in my pursuit of success."
And account manager Iasha Masood thinks she can stand out with her "crazy, controversial, eccentric personality".
The 27-year-old entrepreneur says her "natural persona" can help her to victory while she’ll make sure to keep her "enemies" close.
She said: "I can read people just by looking at their body language, they won’t realise it until it’s too late – and checkmate."
They will be joined by sports management agency owner Dean Ahmad, recruitment company owner Scarlett Allen-Horton, network marketing consultant Jemelin Artigas, digital marketing project manager Lewis Ellis, finance manager Luna Farhan and events manager Riyonn Farsad.
Also competing for Lord Sugar’s approval will be beauty brand owner Pamela Laird, artisan bakery owner Carina Lepore, librarian Lottie Lion, luxury womenswear consultant Ryan-Mark Parsons and ice cream boss Kenna Ngoma.
Risk management consultancy leader Marianne Rawlins and pillow company owner Thomas Skinner round off this year’s lineup.
Baroness Brady and Claude Littner will be back as Lord Sugar’s trusted advisers as the candidates look for boardroom success to convince the businessman to invest in their ideas.
‘The Apprentice’ will air Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC One, followed by ‘You’re Fired’ on BBC Two.