In December 2020, Lloyds Banking Group announced that it had formed the Black Business Advisory Committee with leading businesswoman and former Cabinet Office advisor, Claudine Reid MBE at the helm.
Since then Claudine and Lloyds Banking Group have recruited the full committee of outstanding figures in the Black business community.
Members include broadcaster and lecturer, Evadney Campbell MBE and Mary Agbesanwa who runs PwC’s Fintech Scale Programme for fast-growing B2B fintech startups. All 13 members bring with them a diverse set of experience and expertise, which will equip them to investigate in detail the barriers to growth for the Black business community.
Lloyds Banking Group has also commissioned Black Business Network and Savanta to research the whole entrepreneurial journey for Black people; starting from early stage education through to mature businesses. The research will be ongoing over the next three years, and the findings of this will be used to inform Lloyds Banking Group’s future activities to support the growth of businesses owned and run by Black business leaders.
To supplement this research, The Black Business Advisory Committee is calling on the Black business community to take part in the Community Conversation event on 12th April. Committee members will be sharing the highs and lows from their personal journey and speaking about why engagement is important in order to build stronger sustainable businesses. They will also be taking part in a live audience Q&A. You can register for the event here.
The first committee meeting was held on the 17th February 2021 at which the plans and ambitions for the committee’s work was discussed. The next is scheduled for May 2021 at which time the Committee will review the first findings from the quantitative phase of the research and begin to steer on recommended actions.
“With a stellar line up of experts on board I’m certain we’ll be successful in our collective ambition to shed light on the needs of and barriers faced by the Black business community. Not only this, we’ll then be able to create a tangible set of recommendations for Lloyds Banking Group to implement and others to learn from about how the world of business can transform to become fully inclusive of the Black community.
Today, I’m calling on fellow business people and aspiring entrepreneurs to come forward. We want to hear from you. Your insights will be truly invaluable in helping us develop our recommendations and make sure they really resonate with businesses up and down the country. Ultimately, we believe it will help our fellow Black business owners to have the best opportunity to start, grow and thrive.”
– Claudine Reid MBE, Black Business Advisory Committee Chair
Lloyds Banking Group’s partnership with Foundervine is also launching their first Accelerator programme in April. The Lloyds Investment Readiness Programme will be a 4 week course for Black entrepreneurs seeking investment to help scale their business. The programme will cover topics such as: understanding options when raising investment, what makes a successful investment proposal, gaining support and introductions to experienced investors, and opportunities to build and deliver a compelling pitch. Applications are open now.
Black Business Advisory Committee
- Antonia Burrell
- Cecil Adjalo
- Claudine Reid MBE (Chair)
- Evadney Campbell MBE
- Imelda Fossu
- Izzy Obeng
- Khalia Ismain
- Margaret Ochieng
- Mary Agbesanwa
- Michelle Raymond
- Nathaniel Peat
- Rodney Appiah
- Shari Leigh
