In this week's episode of Cellmate To CEO, Tony is joined by Abdul Bangura, founder and CEO of aviation business ALAC Group.

Abdul first went to prison at 18 and served three separate sentences before being released for the last time in 2015. Determined to turn his life around, he started a healthy meal-prep business, Fresco Box, using an idea inspired by the prison kitchens. What began with a handful of customers and meals cooked in his mum's kitchen quickly grew into an award-winning business.

But when the pandemic brought Fresco Box to an end, Abdul found himself starting again. With no experience in aviation, he took an idea he'd written down years earlier and began building what would become ALAC Group.

Abdul talks to Tony about the importance of mentors, transferring skills from prison into business, dealing with grief and setbacks, and why earning money legitimately has given him a greater sense of achievement than anything he experienced in his previous life.

He also discusses his latest venture, From the Wing to the Wing, which is helping people in prison develop confidence to pursue careers in aviation.

Useful links:

• The Forward Trust: Enterprise coaching, business mentoring and support for people looking to start their own business.
• Switchback: Mentoring and practical support for young men leaving prison in London.
• New Futures Network: Helping people in prison access employment opportunities on release.
• ALAC Group: Abdul’s aviation business, delivering highly effective component supply chain solutions to transform Global Aviation Logistics.
• From the Wing to the Wing CIC: Creating structured, technical pathways for people with lived experience of the criminal justice system into careers in aviation.
• Abdul’s Life After Prison episode with Zak and Jules

Contact us:

If anything you’ve heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you’d just like to get in touch, please contact us.

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✉️ Write: Life After Prison, National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF

🖥️ Website: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/

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