To celebrate Black History Month 2022, NatWest will be hosting an event to celebrate the Black Business community in the UK. Whether you have a business idea that hasn’t yet come to fruition, you’re a business owner looking to expand your customer base, you’d like to offer your time to support others or you’d like to be an ally of the Black Business community – this event is for you.
During the event, we will hear from six speakers on networking related subjects from their perspectives before going into an open discussion and networking session.
We have an exciting lineup including:
Yvonne Nagawa – Black Seed Ventures
Demi Ariyo – Lendoe
Darren Miller – The Black Business Institute
Bayile Adeoti – Dechomai Ltd
Raphael Sofoluke – UK Black Business Week
Nathaniel and Albert – Waked
Austin, Poku and Denzil – The Gen Z Club
This event has been designed to foster relationships and connections that last beyond the month of October and more importantly, to reframe the concept of networking. The term “networking” is often associated with pitching, plugging or selling, but this event has been designed to encourage making connections with the people behind the organisations they represent. It’s important to acknowledge that supporting Black Business in the UK is an ongoing priority beyond the month of October and to do that successfully, we need to have the right people in our networks.
The theme of networking has been informed by the findings of the recently published Time to Change report authored by Aston University’s Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship. Amongst other topics, the Time to Change report highlights the importance of collaboration and fostering the right networks and connections in order to better support Ethnic Minority businesses to thrive.