North West entrepreneurs share their stories of being fostered and adopted

Two North West entrepreneurs are sharing their stories of being fostered and adopted in a bid to boost dwindling adoption figures and change the narrative around children in care.

Serial entrepreneur and investor, Dez Derry, launched his 2025 campaign by sharing his experience as one of 3 brothers who were the first Indian siblings to be adopted by a white family in the late 80s after suffering years of physical abuse.

Meanwhile Sue Wright – former Lehman Brothers trader, barrister and company boss – shared her pride at fostering and adopting 5 children after she went into the care system as a 13-year-old and vowed never to have her own biological children but to foster and adopt instead.

Driven by the rate of children entering the care system and waiting for adoption, Derry and Wright have joined forces to raise awareness of fostering and adoption and highlight the positive impact adoptive and foster parents can have on a young person’s life.

Derry said:

“My Mum and Dad saved 3 Indian boys’ lives when they fostered and then adopted me and my two brothers. We were damaged and broken but that didn’t stop them. We came from Indian heritage and Sikh religion, it was very complicated. No one else would take all 3 of us on! It was the late 80’s when white people didn’t have brown children. Money was tight. There were so many reasons not to take us on, but they did! I’ll forever be so proud and so grateful to them.

I owe them everything. I think the best way to show them just how grateful I am is to help other young people in care find parents like them.”

Over the last decade there has been a 17% increase in the number of children in care across the UK, with England seeing a 19% increase (83,630 children) since 2014.

During 2023-24, just 2,980* children were adopted in England, marking the 9th year of continual decreases in the number of adoptions since a peak in 2015.

Some children wait much longer for an adoptive family, particularly those who are part of sibling groups, are older, have additional needs, or come from Black or ethnic diverse backgrounds.

*Department for Health & Social Care 2024, Department for Education 2024, Department for Health 2024)

Wright commented:

“When I went into care as a teenager I immediately felt a sense of injustice that I’ve never shaken since. I promised myself then that I would foster and adopt. It’s given me 5 wonderful children. My motto is ‘there is always another space at the table’.

“I dug myself out of absolute poverty and I worked incredibly hard to make something of myself. It is possible for children in care to have the brightest futures, they just need to be given the chance. Fostering can break the cycle of care. It can literally save lives!”

The pair are appealing to other former care leavers to make contact as they create a network of entrepreneurs who were fostered, adopted or spent time in the care system as children.

Through practical workshops on entrepreneurialism, networking events and mentoring programmes, the network will highlight the positive outcomes of fostering and adoption and reduce stigma for care leavers, supporting young people who are navigating the care system right now.

Derry chose children’s charity, Adoption Matters, to launch his 2025 mission, pledging to donate £5,000 if his Linkedin post reached 5,000 people.

Adoption Matters Chief Executive, Susy White, comments:

“We are so humbled and delighted that Dez and Sue have chosen our charity to support with their mission. We have recently launched our own not-for-profit fostering agency, Foster Care Matters, due to the crisis in the foster care sector. Not only will they be helping raise vital funds for our charity, but also highlighting the need for more individuals, couples and families to consider starting or growing their family through adoption or opening their homes to foster, at a time when it’s needed the most. Latest figures show that 2,710 children in England waiting right now for their own adoptive family and one child entering care every 15 minutes who could need a foster parent.” 

More information can be found about the charities at: www.adoptionmatters.org www.fostercarematters.org.uk 

Dez Derry set up specialist digital agency, mmadigital in 2012, specialising in finding customer acquisition leads for the legal sector. He oversaw its transformation to Blume and its acquisition by Sun Capital in 2022. He is an investor in a number of businesses including social-first travel company, TravelSeen, social media platform for combat sports, Fight Division, and LeBlanq – a company creating travel experiences that combine a love of cycling with fine dining in some of the most beautiful destinations across the world