In May 2026, the Manchester Evening News published a feature on the founders of Greenwich Mercantile: Cameron Bell and Ufuk Dede. The article ran in MEN's real-life section — one of the UK's largest regional newspapers, part of Reach plc.
As featured in Manchester Evening News — May 17, 2026The Story Behind the Company
Cameron Bell grew up in Bolton, Greater Manchester. He is dyslexic and failed his A-levels — not a trajectory that points toward LSE or a career at BlackRock. But it did. Cameron studied at the University of Manchester Metropolitan, transferred to the University of Glasgow where he finished top of his class, and went on to the London School of Economics where he received a distinction and the highest dissertation grade in his cohort.
From there he joined BlackRock and then Teya, a UK fintech that reached unicorn status. He is now based in San Francisco as CEO of Greenwich Mercantile.
Ufuk Dede is the company's co-founder. Cameron and Ufuk met through Entrepreneur First — one of the most selective talent investor programmes in the world, known for building companies from scratch by pairing co-founders before the idea exists.
What Greenwich Mercantile Does
"We are a tech-enabled trade compliance business — we help US importers, like fashion companies, robotics companies, import goods in a way that is compliant with US trade regulation in the most advantageous way using AI and human expertise."
Cameron Bell, Co-founder & CEO, Greenwich Mercantile — Manchester Evening News, May 2026The business was founded in response to a specific problem: U.S. importers are navigating one of the most complex and rapidly changing tariff environments in a generation. Since January 2025, the effective tariff rate on U.S. imports has climbed from 2.3% to over 10% on average — and for specific product categories and countries of origin, the real rate can be dramatically higher.
Most importers rely on legacy customs brokers whose systems were not designed to handle layered tariff programs running simultaneously. Greenwich Mercantile combines licensed customs brokers with purpose-built AI tooling to classify goods correctly, surface every applicable duty program, and identify where duty savings are legally available — whether through reclassification, USMCA qualification, FTZ strategies, or drawback recovery.
Why the Timing Matters
The MEN article ran in May 2026 — a moment when U.S. trade policy had become front-page news globally. Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, Section 232 duties on metals, the short-lived IEEPA surcharge, and the ongoing Section 122 global surcharge have all landed within a 12-month window. For importers without expert compliance support, the overpayment and under-compliance risk is significant.
Greenwich Mercantile's model is built for this environment: flat-fee brokerage, AI-assisted classification and entry review, and specialist broker expertise available to importers who previously could not access it — including foreign companies importing into the U.S. for the first time.
Read the Full Article
The original Manchester Evening News article covers Cameron's personal story in full — from Bolton to San Francisco — and explains the founding of Greenwich Mercantile in his own words.
Manchester Evening News "Failed A-levels, can't spell — now running a company in San Francisco" — May 17, 2026If you are a U.S. importer navigating the current tariff environment and want to understand what Greenwich Mercantile can do for your operation, book a call with our team.