Mona Shah MBE is a British social entrepreneur, chocolatier and the co-founder and Managing Director of Harry Specters, the award-winning artisan chocolate company based in Ely, Cambridgeshire. She is widely recognised for combining commercial success with social impact by creating employment and training opportunities for autistic people.
Inspired by the experiences of her autistic son and the limited employment opportunities available to autistic young people, Mona set out to create an autism-friendly workplace where individuals could build confidence, skills and independence. After attending a chocolate-making course, she recognised that the structured, precise and creative nature of chocolate production could be particularly well suited to many autistic people, and in 2012 she founded Harry Specters with her husband. What began as a small home-based operation grew into an award-winning specialist chocolatier with a strong social mission, providing paid employment, training and work-experience opportunities for hundreds of autistic individuals.
Under Mona’s leadership, Harry Specters has received numerous awards for both its chocolates and its social impact. The company has won multiple Great Taste and Academy of Chocolate awards and was awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity in 2024.
In recognition of her contribution to training and employment opportunities for autistic young people, Mona Shah was awarded an (MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours in 2025. The award acknowledged her pioneering work in demonstrating how business can be a force for social good while creating high-quality products and meaningful careers.
Today, Mona Shah is regarded as an influential advocate for autism employment and social enterprise. Through Harry Specters she continues to champion inclusive workplaces, proving that with the right environment and opportunities, autistic individuals can thrive and make outstanding contributions to business and society.