These are some of the young, black entrepreneurs changing industries across the North West.
Working in sectors from tech to wellbeing to employment, they are excelling in their fields, in many cases overcoming obstacles and with fascinating stories to tell.
Companies owned by people of African and Caribbean origin generate more than £10bn for the UK each year, according to the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME).
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BusinessLive and its parent company Reach plc have been running a campaign to highlight the contribution and importance of black-owned businesses to the UK’s success – now and in the future.
Last year, #IAMBOB was launched across Reach’s news titles, with the company retweeting hundreds of black-owned businesses to thousands of followers.
And all this month, we have been running a series of articles celebrating success, resilience and entrepreneurship as part of October’s Black History Month.
Below, we have listed 17 of the black entrepreneurs changing industries across the North West.
Monique Kufuor is founder of Manchester-based BOBExpo, a platform for black-owned businesses, aimed at helping them locate specific products and services, through business exhibitions and an online directory.
Monique said she was inspired to become an entrepreneur as she wanted to spend more time with her family, as well as enter a career with more progression than her previous job as a nurse.
That’s as well as looking to bridge the gap between black business owners, but she said it has not been straightforward as she continues to come up against the same barriers as businesses she is trying to support, including receiving funding and sponsorship.
She said: “This has given me a good understanding of the current barriers businesses face, which has helped the company facilitate support through our skills workshops.”
Since being founded in 2018, it has organised three business exhibitions in Manchester showcasing small black owned businesses providing these hard to find products and services.
The most recent exhibition was in the summer, with over 100 businesses showcasing and over 1,000 attendees.
During the pandemic BOBExpo also launched a business hub after realising more support was needed to help businesses stay afloat. It has helped several businesses with mentorship, business skills and connecting to further services needed for business growth.
