West Midlands Mayor backs hundreds more entrepreneurs to create jobs and grow the economy

A ground-breaking network of business support hubs that have helped grow 300 companies in some of the region’s most ethnically diverse communities is to expand thanks to new funding from Mayor Richard Parker.
Two new Community Business Growth Hubs have opened at Colebridge Trust in Chelmsley Wood, Solihull, and The Savoy Centre in Netherton, Dudley, run by Black Country Housing Group in partnership with SWEDA (Skills Work and Enterprise Development Agency).
They will give even more local entrepreneurs the advice and funding they need to secure new investment, win more business and create jobs in their own communities with support extended to disabled and female-led businesses, and those in deprived neighbourhoods.
The new hubs will build on the success of the first five launched by the Mayor last year in Coventry, Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Birmingham (two hubs).
The Mayor’s Growth Plan sets outs plans to harness the entrepreneurial spirit of people from all walks of life to help fire up the regional economy and raise living standards.
Businesses like Wolverhampton-based Lumak Services are benefitting from this expert advice. Lumak was set up as a cleaning company by Lucia Makono before expanding into community care services.
The support Lucia has had from the hub in Wolverhampton, run by Access to Business, has helped her win new council contracts, boosting turnover and growing her workforce from 15 to 50 people. The business has also moved into its first dedicated premises.
Lucia said: “The support I received from the Access to Business hub has been invaluable.
“It has helped me understand my finances better, opened new opportunities for contracts, and supported me in finding premises so my business can continue to grow. I am truly grateful for the guidance and the doors it has opened for Lumak Services Ltd.”

Lucia Makono, director, Lumak Services Ltd, one of the 300 companies supported by the West Midlands Community Business Hubs.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Lumak Services is one of thousands of small businesses that together are the engine room of our economy. With the right support they are not just surviving, they’re thriving.
“Lucia’s determination to succeed has been matched by the expertise in her local business hub, bringing good jobs and real hope to a community that may once have felt left behind – but not anymore.
“No one should be held back from fulfilling their potential, least of all because of their race, identity or background. These hubs are playing an essential role in breaking down barriers and unlocking the entrepreneurial spirit of leaders like Lucia, so more of our people and places can feel the benefit as we get our economy firing on all cylinders again.”
The West Midlands is one of the UK’s most ethnically diverse regions with the most recent Census data showing almost half the population is now non-White British.
Figures show people from ethnic communities are twice as likely to start a business but less than half of them survive long enough to become income generating – compared to two thirds of white-owned companies.
Research shows that female led and disabled led entrepreneurs are similarly less likely to access funding and growth support.
The region’s seven Community Business Growth Hubs are funded by the Mayor and run in partnership with trusted community organisations, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM), and the region’s Race Equalities Taskforce.
They provide one-to-one expert advice, workshops and networking events, and direct links into regional and national support and funding programmes, as well as providing much-needed investment in the community locations in which they are based.
Establishing a network of community led hubs to break down these barriers to business success is also one of the key actions in the Race Equalities Taskforce’s first five-year strategy.

Sureya Gulzar, head of social business, Black Country Housing Group; Lynne Avery, delivery manager, Business Growth West Midlands; Rachel Houslin, The Savoy Centre manager; Claire Cooksey, business advisor, SWEDA, the delivery partner for the Dudley hub.

Sureya Gulzar, head of social business, Black Country Housing Group, said: “We are committed to supporting the growth of local people and local business.
“We are pleased to be working in partnership with SWEDA to establish the Dudley Community Business Hub at the Savoy Centre in Netherton, this important initiative supported by BGWM will ensure local business leaders have the support they need to grow and contribute to the local economy and beyond.”
Chet Parmar, chief executive, Colebridge Trust & Enterprises, said: “Too many businesses miss out on opportunities that include grants, training and access to mentoring.
“We’re working with partners such as Business Growth West Midlands, Rock Solid, Solihull Chamber and Solihull Council, to provide our local businesses the best possible chance of sustainability and growth.
“This support will focus on minority-led SMEs who have female, disability, ethnic and other owners who may be at risk of being marginalised from growth.
“As a charity with its own packing and assembly social enterprise and with the work that we have delivered as part of the social economy cluster, inclusive growth is important to the trust.”
A full list of Community Business Growth Hubs across the West Midlands:

Highlife Centre, Barras Green, Coventry
iSE Women’s Enterprise Hub, Ladypool Road, Sparkbrook, Birmingham
Legacy Centre of Excellence, Potters Lane, Newtown, Birmingham
SWEDA (Skills Work and Enterprise Development Agency), The Business Centre, Church Street, West Bromwich
Access to Business with Wolverhampton Black Business Network, Tempest Street, Wolverhampton
Colebridge Trust Junction community centre, Chapelhouse Road, Chelmlsey Wood, Solihull
The Savoy Centre, Black Country Housing Group, Northfield Road, Netherton, Dudley

All small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the West Midlands can access a whole range of business support from BGWM’s team of expert advisors, funded with £15 million from the Mayor.
BGWM was set up by the WMCA to help drive the Mayor’s plans to reignite the regional economy by providing tailored packages to help SMEs grow, decarbonise, adopt digital technologies, transition to new supply chains, and access finance.
Find out more about the Community Business Hubs and other support for SMEs can get through BGWM on the BGWM website.

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