Money Tigers is the Japanese television format adapted into the British series Dragons’ Den.
The Japanese programme created the core structure later used internationally: entrepreneurs present business proposals to wealthy investors, who question the plan and decide whether to offer money in exchange for equity. The British version retained that investment-focused drama while introducing its own presenter, Dragons and business culture.
The format is often incorrectly attributed directly to the American programme Shark Tank. Shark Tank is a later American adaptation of the same broad international format family, whereas Money Tigers is the Japanese source named for the British adaptation.
The title refers to the investors as “tigers,” a label that was localised in Britain as “dragons.” This change helped give the UK edition its distinctive identity without changing the fundamental pitch-and-negotiate structure.