Black. British. In Business & Proud Year 2 Report launched!
The BBIBP report offers important recommendations for bridging the trust gap between black business owners and banking institutions and helps many formal institutions understand the obstacles faced by black business owners. This provides the formal institution with the necessary guidance for taking the appropriate action to address the issue that black owners are facing.
‘Black.British.In business & Proud’ (BBIBP) is the only study in the UK that examines the full entrepreneurial life cycle for Black business owners in Britain.
BBIP report created by the Black Business Network and Lloyds bank. The report outlines the difficulties black entrepreneurs face and urges action. The report emphasises the lack of trust that exists between Black Business Communities and formal institutions and focuses on the experiences of Black entrepreneurs as they seek to expand their businesses.
Key Findings
Only 12% of black business owners and entrepreneurs approach banks; instead, 31% turn to friends, 26% to family, 27% to Black community groups, and 29% to social media groups.
Negative discrimination affected two out of three (67%) Black business owners in the past, up from half (51%) in 2021.
Six in ten Black solopreneurs made less than £20,000 in revenue each year. The UK’s average solopreneur turnover exceeds that of Black-owned businesses.
3 in 10 black business owners approach banks for finance. Black business owners finance themselves mainly from family or self-financing, which is hindered growth and productivity.
Many Black entrepreneurs are running businesses without formal support from any institutions due to their past experience of discrimination. Many black business owners are solopreneur. In the black business community, turning to family and social media networks is a common tool. Therefore, we can see why the average solopreneur turnover in the UK is more than double that of Black-owned businesses.
Lloyds bank developed a long-term relationship with Foundervine to provide the right support for underrepresented communities to solve the distrust issue between formal institutions and Black-owned businesses. In order to provide Black entrepreneurs and other underrepresented founders with the best opportunity to begin, grow, adapt, and succeed in their business, Foundervine launched the Immerse programme in collaboration with Lloyds Bank. The programme offers six spotlight events, two community get-togethers, two accelerators, and an online collection of 24 educational videos on topics like finance, marketing, digital skills, scaling a business, and mental health.
The Foundervine Immerse programme brings Lloyds Bank and black businesses closer together to build trust and offer official support in response to the 2021 report’s recommendations. The Immerse community has more than 1,100 members, and the programme has helped more than 400 founders with high satisfaction.
‘Always an absolute pleasure when you attend a programme of excellent learning and where you feel the passion, energy and know that friendships and connections have been formed for the journey ahead. One of the most valuable sessions for me was the Evening Spotlight: How To Structure the Perfect Pitch, as it helped me have a deeper understanding on how to pitch which was useful to apply to your own business. I was able to understand clearer how to get your message better cross in your decks and elevator pitches. All useful stuff’ — — — — Ranjit Ghoshal, Foundervine Immerse Participant, Founder of One Million Steps
‘The Lloyds Accelerator was extremely helpful in creating a cohort where entrepreneurs could safely discuss common challenges and share ideas & support. All the speakers and mentors were knowledgeable in a practical way — The accelerator has increased my knowledge and challenged me to re-evaluate my messaging of my company brand which in turn has increased my confidence.’ — Shainoor Khoja, Foundervine Immerse Participant, Founder of Thriving.ai
If you want to see what else Foundervine does to help Black Business owners access more opportunities. Please feel free to check out here
Black Business Network Support Hub
The Black Business Network Support Hub was curated by members of the Lloyds Bank Black Business Advisory Committee, providing a central hub to help navigate to useful information: from funding to mentoring. It is a directory of business resources and organisations that support Black and diverse entrepreneurs for the lifecycle of their business.
