West Midlands ethnic minority entrepreneurs offered extra support

Extra support is being offered to entrepreneurs in ethnically diverse communities to help them grow their businesses.

Five community groups will work with other organisations to connect entrepreneurs to business support through £270,000 of funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

The hubs will be in Birmingham, Coventry, Sandwell and Wolverhampton.

Research showed ethnic minority communities were more likely to start businesses but found it hard to grow them and keep them going, Sharonjit Clare, from the West Midlands Race Equalities Taskforce, said.

“Our collective aim is to offer a whole generation of entrepreneurs better access to available funding, growth programmes and opportunities to diversify into new and emerging sectors,” she added.

“By working together, we can also enable the community hubs to boost their reach, resilience and impact, and secure further investment.”

The hubs will be at:

• iSE Women’s Enterprise Hub, Birmingham
• Legacy Centre of Excellence, Birmingham
• Highlife Centre, Coventry
• Skills Work and Enterprise Agency in Sandwell
• Access to Business with Wolverhampton Black Business Network