Meet the Black entrepreneurs shaping UK’s future – Metro partners with BBI

Metro is joining forces with the Black British Initiative (BBI) to boost representation for underprivileged Black entrepreneurs across the UK through a 12-month content partnership.

The UK newsbrand with the most diverse audience will highlight the excellence of Black businessmen and women through a series of creative storytelling – starting with an interview with CEO and founder Darren Miller and a profile piece on Isabelle Pennington-Edmead, a fashion designer who started her own successful slow-fashion brand.

The series will continue with profiles on 11 more stand-out entrepreneurs who have fascinating stories to share about their journey from startup to entrepreneurial excellence.

Next, we will hear from personal trainer, Patrick Hutchinson, and gallery owner Aki Abiola.

Bookmark the link to the tag page to follow along each month.

For those unfamiliar with BBI, the organisation was founded in 2023 and at its heart is MBA30, an initiative that provides business training for Black entrepreneurs.

The goal is to help address the cultural and race-based barriers experienced by aspiring Black businesspeople and the disparity of wealth in the UK.

Between 2009-2019, just 0.24% of UK venture capital investment went to Black entrepreneurs, highlighting the systematic hurdles Black businesses face when securing financing.

What’s more, statistics from the Runnymede Trust show that Black households have on average nine times less wealth than white households.

BBI CEO and founder Darren Miller, himself a successful entrepreneur, firmly believes executive education can help close this gap.

One of his biggest challenges when starting out with his first business was pitching for investment without having the specialist knowledge to prepare him for the sort of technical financial scouring that would have applied to his business models. As a result, he tells Metro, securing funding was hard and he was often turned down for businesses he deemed ‘rock solid’.

‘They could see things I couldn’t, and it put me at a major disadvantage,’ Darren explains.

Working with Metro, BBI now hopes to train up 3,000 entrepreneurs by 2030, playing a key role in unlocking the £75 billion economic growth opportunity that could come from a boost to Black-owned business.

Darren says: ‘Black and ethnic entrepreneurs could add up to £75bn to the UK’s GDP, that is a huge ‘win-win’ and our mission is to help realise that potential.’

He adds: ‘The leadership and vision shown by the Metro is exemplary. Like BBI, they realise in order for the UK to be at its very best, every community must make a full contribution.

Metro Editor-in-Chief, Deborah Arthurs says: ‘Partnering with BBI aligns with our mission to reflect the diversity of the UK, and indeed our readership, to champion entrepreneurial ambition that too often goes unsupported.

‘Darren’s story is a powerful reminder of how much potential exists when talent meets opportunity — and why visibility, investment and education are key to unlocking more talent and a more inclusive and prosperous economy.’

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