Current events and a few emails from entrepreneurs have spurred us into action to undertake more policy work on BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) entrepreneurship. One founder who got in touch, has helpfully shared some links that I recommend reading:
– Sifted: We don't need your empty gestures; we need action
– Business Insider: Black founders speak out powerfully on the fight against everyday racism in the UK
– Pioneers Post: I hope we have hard, uncomfortable and honest conversations
– 100+ diversity in tech communities in Europe
– The work of YSYS
So what next? With support from NatWest, we’re putting together an APPG for Entrepreneurship Webinar on BAME entrepreneurship. You can register your interest by dropping us an email. I hope and expect that this will be the start of some more focused policy work.
BAME entrepreneurship policy overlaps with some of our previous work on immigrant founders – and Sam Dumitriu has just written an excellent article making a powerful case for why we should let asylum seekers work – but, of course, it is also about British-born BAME entrepreneurs. I’m keen to hear from anyone who wants to work with us on this. Let's make this as impactful and sustained as our Female Founders Forum project that we've been working on with Barclays for years.
Trade shows
Coronavirus has put a dampener on London Tech Week, which is normally abuzz with hundreds of events. It didn’t stop some serious headline policy announcements though, with Rt Hon. Liz Truss MP launching the Future Tech Trade Strategy.
It includes: an £8m Digital Trade Network (DTN), a joint DIT-DCMS project for Asia Pacific to support UK tech businesses to internationalise and attract talent to the UK; the creation of a new Tech Exporting Academy, which will provide expert advice for high-potential SMEs; a new DIT platform (think virtual trade shows); the creation of 25 tech export champions across the Northern Powerhouse, Midlands Engine, London and the South; and quite a lot more.
We’ll have a thorough Policy Update on all the details early next week, which you can sign up for here.
#Influencers
We’re in full swing with our APPG for Entrepreneurship Webinars. You can read pithy summaries and rewatch the webinars on YouTube:
– Disability and Entrepreneurship in the Time of Coronavirus, with Dr Lisa Cameron MP, Liz Johnson and Kush Kanodia.
– Economy, Technology and Bouncing Back, with John Penrose MP, Gary Richards (Mishcon de Reya) and The Rt Hon Baroness Kramer.
– Innovation, International Trade and Economic Recovery, with Katherine Fletcher MP, Chris Hulatt (Co-founder Octopus) and Andrew Griffith MP.
These wouldn’t have been possible without the support and expertise of Mishcon de Reya and Octopus. Incidentally, I recommend checking out Simon Rogerson blog from Octopus – particularly his reflections on leading a company during this challenging time, and signing up to Mishcon de Reya’s updates on areas that impact your business, which I find extremely useful.
As mentioned, we’re teaming up with NatWest on a BAME entrepreneurship Webinar, but we’re keen to undertake more – not least because MPs and Peers are champing at the bit to get involved. Just let me know if you or your company want to work with us on one or more.
Sage advice
I’ve been meaning to announce this for a while, but what with one thing and another, it slipped my mind. Sam Dumitru has put together an amazing team of Research Advisers, which really ramps up our capacity. Dr Vicki Belt, Adam Corlett, Dr Christopher Haley, Dr Robyn Owen, Dr Charlotte Reypens, Leo Ringer, Kajal Sanghrajka, Matt Smith, and Stian Westlake are all on board, supporting the planning and editing of all our research projects.
If good management really is surrounding yourself with people smarter than yourself, I think I deserve a pat on the back. Just check out Stian’s excellent article with Jonathan Haskel on how a government should respond to a pandemic in an intangible-intensive economy.
BBB Diversity
The British Business Bank is carrying out a significant piece of research with Ipsos MORI. They’re aiming to understand the experiences of people who have an idea for starting a business, or who have launched and run their own business, whether currently ongoing, or in the past.
They're particularly interested in how diversity, such as gender and ethnicity, impacts and interacts with entrepreneurship. The results will be used to inform future initiatives aimed at supporting business ideas and founders beyond Covid-19, including improving diversity within the ecosystem. The deadline is 26th June, and it’ll only take 15 minutes. Have your say.
BAME Founders