Money Tigers provided the original format for the UK show Dragon's Den.
The Japanese programme, known as Money no Tora and translated as Money Tigers, established the central structure: entrepreneurs present business proposals to wealthy investors and negotiate over funding and ownership. The British series adapted that format for BBC viewers.
This origin is often obscured because Dragon's Den itself became an international brand, spawning local versions in many countries. The better-known American programme Shark Tank is related through the same format lineage but was not the original source.
The Japanese concept was created by Nippon Television personality and producer Yasushi Akimoto. Its basic pitch-and-invest structure proved adaptable across different business cultures, with each national version changing its panel, host and presentation style.