Ethnic minority businesses play a vital role in economy, yet rarely receive the recognition they deserve. They contribute a £25 billion to the UK economy and recent research by the Centre for Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship found they are more innovative and more likely to export than their non-EMB counterparts. The UK economy will need the entrepreneurial qualities of diverse communities in the post-Brexit and post Covid-19 era.
This blog series from the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CRÈME) features contributions from academics, practitioners and policy-makers offering fresh perspectives on engaging collaboratively with overlooked or disregarded business communities and promoting diversity and enterprise.
Building an Inclusive HR Community
Monder Ram and Imelda McCarthy draw on their action research study Productivity from Below to share insights on building an inclusive human resource community that engages often overlooked ethnic minority microbusinesses.
Pushing an Agenda to Democratise Business Knowledge
Katherine Jones, our PrOPEL Hub Knowledge Exchange Fellow and Richard Thickpenny from Ashley Community Housing, an award-winning social enterprise providing a range of support for refugees, BAME & migrant individuals, discuss the need to establish networking groups for business support provision for BAME communities.
Towards a Strategy for Supporting Ethnic Minority Businesses in the West Midlands
CREME share insight from their research and from their partners on key lessons for stakeholders interested in collaborative approaches to supporting Ethnic Minority Businesses in the West Midlands.
Facilitating Digital Transformation in the Bangladeshi Catering Sector
Dr Imelda McCarthy at Research Fellow at CREME and Johur Uddin (Skills Link and representing the Bangladeshi Catering Sector) reflect upon the benefits of social media marketing in the Bangladeshi catering sector and call for more support in this area for small businesses.
Access to Finance for Small Business
Dr Steve Walker, Chief Executive of Art Business Loans reflects on the role the organisation has play in providing and the challenges many small firms will face in the future.
This blog introduces the four businesses and civil society group working with Aston, Birmingham and Warwick Universities on the project Productivity from Below.
