Responsible Finance responds to new report from the British Business Bank and Oliver Wyman, Alone Together: Entrepreneurship and Diversity in the UK.
“The Alone Together report into Entrepreneurship and diversity in the UK demonstrates that access to finance appears to be a major barrier for Black, Asian and Other Ethnic Minority entrepreneurs. It is unjust that entrepreneurs with viable business plans find it easier or harder to access the finance they need based on their ethnicity, their gender or indeed where they live – the report mentions regional imbalances in finance too.
“There is an established mechanism to reach entrepreneurs excluded from mainstream finance and investment. Community Development Finance Institutions, our members, are non-profit social enterprises which have long supported small SMEs unable to access bank finance, working throughout the UK to address inequalities – they make “levelling-up” a reality, not just a slogan. For example, 29% of “RF Fund” loans made by our member ART Business Loans were to businesses led by Black, Asian and Other Ethnic Minority entrepreneurs.
“But we could do more if we could secure more access to capital to lend. With the right supportive environment our members could lend £250 million per year to underserved small businesses.”
Theodora Hadjimichael, Chief Executive, Responsible Finance