Wray & Nephew, the renowned Jamaican rum brand, has partnered with Foundervine to launch the third iteration of their ‘Wray Forward’ program. Research by Wray & Nephew found that 68% of Black entrepreneurs in the UK experience a lack of business tools and resources. Additionally, 76% think that having early access to the right tools could have accelerated their success. A fifth of Black entrepreneuers also needed help with fundraising. These findings underlined the need for support in the Black entrepreneurial community. The ‘Wray Forward’ Initiative The ‘Wray Forward’ initiative connects Black entrepreneurs
Belong, a London-based fintech startup has recently launched out of stealth, following a €3.4 million ($3.6 million) pre-seed funding. This achievement marks the largest pre-seed round ever raised by female founders in Europe. Helping millenials build wealth Millennials are the first generation in history to be worse off than their parents financially. Belong was established in 2023 by former investment banker Avion Gray and behavioral economist Samantha Rosenberg to change this. Nick Hungerford, a pioneer in European fintech, brought together co-founders Gray and Rosenberg. Hungerford’s legacy continues to influence the company, even after passing in July 2023. “We
Nearly 9 in 10 (87%) firms in the UK now prioritize Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), a new report claims, with AI tools playing a significant role in this transformation. The findings come from a recent Workday survey, Global Blueprint for Belonging and Diversity, with views from CEOs and leaders in HR, IT, and finance. Can AI Support DEI Programs? The report found that overall, having the right technology stack is essential and can be critical in enabling DEI. In particular, it was found that there is a significant correlation between AI adoption and effective
Tech founder and major political donor Frank Hester reportedly said that looking at Diane Abbott, Britain’s longest-serving Black Member of Parliament (MP), made him “want to hate all Black women” and that she “should be shot.” Hester, the founder and CEO of software company The Phoenix Partnership (TPP), donated £10 million ($12.8 million) to the Conservative Party last year. What Happened? The Guardian reports that Hester made the remarks about Abbott during a 2019 meeting. His comments have sparked widespread outcry, raising serious questions about racism within the tech industry and
The UK’s biggest companies are slowly adding more diversity to their top roles. The Parker Review examined 350 major UK businesses. It found increased representation of people from ethnic minority backgrounds but noted there is still room for improvement. The Parker Review The Parker Review discovered that there are now 12 ethnic minority chief executives and seven Chairs in the FTSE 100, which lists the top 100 companies in the UK. This is an improvement from seven CEOs and six Chairs in 2022. However, in the bigger picture, only 13% of the
British semiconductor company Arm has joined the Black Talent and Leadership in STEM program as the first consortium member of their “Be the Change” initiative. Located in the UK’s answer to Silicon Valley – ‘Silicon Fen’, Arm is the leading technology provider of processor intellectual property. Be The Change Recently, the Black Talent and Leadership Program launched the “Be the Change” initiative at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, to address the underrepresentation of Black talent in STEM. It was delivered with Cambridge Wireless, Homerton Changemakers, the University of Cambridge, the 10,000 Interns Foundation, and
UK-based Black-owned platform Sojo has become the first fashion repairs and alterations platform to achieve B Corp certification. Certified B Corps are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. The B Corp Community is a global movement of businesses that provide leadership by demonstrating their commitment to people and the planet. There are over 7,800 B Corps worldwide, across 161 industries in 92 countries, with over 708,300 workers. Sojo achieved 86.8 points, above the B Corp pass mark of 80 and
Tech Nation has revealed the startups selected for the 2024 cohort of their Libra program, which aims to champion underrepresented founders. Based in the UK, Tech Nation is the leading growth platform for tech insights, connections, collaboration, and talent. It empowers ambitious founders and their teams with the access and knowledge they need from their seed stage to their end goal. Over the past decade, Tech Nation has engaged with over 5,000 businesses and accelerated 1,250 through 48 growth programs. The Libra Program Libra is the growth program for underrepresented tech founders
What opportunities are there for shifting power towards the most racially marginalized? In a world as increasingly digitized as ours, there are urgent questions arising about centralized power, corporate accountability, and the impact on individual freedoms. An upcoming research report, “What Does Tech Justice Look Like In The UK?” explores Tech Justice and opportunities to empower the most racially marginalized. The research, funded by Catalyst and supported by the Engine Room, was carried out by a team of British women of global majority descent. Their backgrounds span West and East
UK businesses are seeking to rewrite tech’s historically poor reputation for diversity, Wiley Edge’s Diversity in Tech 2023 report found. The technology sector continues to be a driving force behind the global economy, with forecasts indicating that it is set only for further growth. However, the sector has yet to fully address an ongoing problem – the lack of workforce diversity. According to the report, as levels of income inequality reach new highs, the tech sector’s diversity dilemma puts it under added pressure to discover new ways of introducing more
