Conference for ethnic minority businesses

De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester has hosted another successful international conference for ethnic minority businesses.

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic businesses contribute in the region of £30-40bn to the UK economy1. Delegates from ethnic minority businesses, business agencies and intermediaries, employer groups, the corporate sector and local authorities attended the 13th Annual Ethnic Minority Business Conference to discover more.

They heard influencers from the corporate, educational and business support sectors set out how they engage with ethnic minority entrepreneurs in the UK.

Widely regarded as the UK’s most important international conference for ethnic minority businesses, it was organised by De Montfort University Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) in association with East Midlands Development Agency (emda).

The purpose of the annual conference is to present cutting-edge research and policy initiatives. It addressed key themes such as national developments in ethnic minority entrepreneurship, advancing ethnic minority entrepreneurship, regional business support and supply chain opportunities.

Key speakers included, Mike Carr, emda, Gerard Chick, Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, Rosana Mirkovic, Association of Chartered & Certified Accountants, David Darlaston, Business in the Community, Stephen Smith, East Midlands Business Ltd, Simon Leggett, Staples Advantage, Alan Christie, Equality & Human Rights Commission and Professor Monder Ram of DMU.

Professor Monder Ram OBE initiated the annual event in 1998. He is Professor of Small Business and Director of CREME at DMU’s Leicester Business School and an internationally acclaimed researcher on small and ethnic minority businesses and entrepreneurship.

Professor Ram said: “This year’s conference provided many excellent examples of the importance of ethnic minority entrepreneurship, and its contribution to the local, regional and national economy. We also saw the emergence of innovative business support partnerships involving the public and the private sectors. This is further demonstration of the inextricable link between diversity and entrepreneurship.”

Mike Carr, Executive Director of Business Services at emda, said: “Ethnic minority businesses make an important contribution to the region’s economy. We have been working closely with CREME and Minority Supplier Development UK to ensure that entrepreneurs in the ethnic minority community receive the support they require to develop their businesses. The conference is key in terms of both highlighting best practice and identifying issues faced by ethnic minority businesses.”

Stephen Smith, Chief Executive of EMB Ltd, the organisation that delivers the regional Business Link service on behalf of emda, added: “I was delighted to participate in this conference and acknowledge the contribution that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic businesses make to the local economy.

Business Link’s aim is to ensure that business support services are accessed by the whole of the business community – ensuring information and advice are made accessible to anyone who is thinking about starting a business or who is already up and running.”

The EMB Conference took place at the Leicester Tigers rugby stadium on Welford Road in Leicester on 14 October.

150 guests attended a gala dinner sponsored by Barclays in the evening with a keynote address by Sir Gulam Noon MBE, Chairman of Noon Products Ltd.

For more information or to interview Professor Ram please call De Montfort University’s Press Office on 0116 250 6244.

For more details visit www.emda.org.uk

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