Black British Business Awards 2015

Building successful black businesses has an important role in supporting the nation’s economy so we are delighted to highlight the forthcoming Black British Business Awards, an event that recognises, rewards and celebrates exceptional performance and outstanding achievements of black people in businesses.

Highlighting the dynamism, excellence, creativity and resilience of British black businesses, the BBB Awards state they are ‘designed to transcend stereotypes and highlight the often unsung contributions of black people to the British economy.’

Last year's awards event was supported by then Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Dr Vince Cable who praised their said:

The importance of these awards cannot be overstated given that two out of every three FTSE 100 companies have an all-white board and [the BBBAwards] will be a welcome addition to getting more diversity in the city.”

It is vitally important that there develops a real focus and priority in promoting a good understanding of economics and its potential contributions toward realising the huge potential of Black businesses.

In 2001 I was responsible for publishing a report looking a black business as London’s Policy Director for Equalities. Some of the key findings were:

• There are over 10,000 black-owned businesses employing one or more staff in London (4 per cent of all London businesses).
• 25 per cent of black business owners are women (compared to 21 per cent for White and 17 per cent of Asian business owners).
• Black-owned businesses are under-represented compared with the proportion of London’s black population. Black-owned business comprise 4 per cent of all businesses, but 12 per cent of London’s population is black.
• Most black-owned businesses are small (61 per cent have one to four employees, compared to 49 per cent for White-owned firms and 47 per cent for London as a whole)
• Black-owned businesses in London have a total turnover of almost £4.5 billion.
• Black-owned businesses provide around 70,000 jobs (3 per cent of total London employee jobs)
• The two biggest industries for black-owned firms (in terms of number of businesses) are Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities (broadly Business Services) and Wholesale & Retail trade.
• Black businesses seem to have shown great resilience during the recent slowdown.
• Black businesses are innovative - they are more than averagely likely to introduce innovations in goods, services or business processes, and significantly more likely than the average to derive substantial benefits from such innovations.

The founders of BBBA are two amazing black women, Melanie Eusebe and Sophie Chanduaka.

Melanie is a management consultant with over 17 years international business experience, specialising in strategic transformation initiatives for leading global brands. While working at IBM and EY, Melanie specialised in organisational and operational strategy and has worked with companies to identify strategic opportunities.

Sophie is a corporate finance expert, and since January 2012 she has worked on the acquisition of Northern Rock and deals in excess of £9bn, including Virgin Money’s recent flotation on the London Stock Exchange. Prior to Virgin Money, Sophie was a Senior Associate at Baker & McKenzie, advising leading global businesses such as Nike, The Body Shop and Macquarie Bank.

Sophie has instructed top global law firms including Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Baker & McKenzie, and has been recognised by the British Legal Awards, The Lawyer Awards, Women of the Future Awards and in Management Today’s 35 under 35. In 2013 she was profiled in Financial News’ editorial pick of 40 Rising Stars under 40 in the European legal profession.

Sophie features as one of the top 100 most influential Black Britons on the Power List 2014 and 2015 and The Lawyer Hot 100 in Britain in 2015. Community service has included being a mentor and Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and a Board member of Sentebale, a charity founded by Prince Harry which supports children affected by HIV in Africa.

Both deserve congratulations on establishing this important platform that recognises black business excellence, creativity and innovation. With black youth unemployment currently at an all time high, encouraging business development has never been more important, and encouraging business leaders to rise to the challenge this poses is the biggest single priority for black communities.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-black-british-business-awards-tickets-16594402304

Lee Jasper