Sheffield business board doubles support for black and minority entrepreneurs
More than 200 business engaged by organisation that came out of race equality report
Support for Sheffield businesses run by black and minority ethnic owners has doubled under a new organisation backed by the city council.
Sheffield Diverse Business Board was set up four years ago following a report by Sheffield Race Equality Commission. Its conclusions included that minority and ethnic businesses needed support to grow and boost the city economy.
The board has worked to increase the number of start-up businesses that council-backed support services engages from 18.3 per cent in 2019/20 to 37.7 per cent in 2026.
It now engages more than 200 businesses, board co-chair Ben Locke told a meeting of Sheffield City Council’s economic development, skills and culture policy committee yesterday, September 2.
Mr Locke, managing director of kitchen renovation business Re:Faced, said that minority-run companies have previously been under-represented in mainstream business support.
The board has focused on issues such as helping businesses to bid for public sector procurement contracts, plus improving skills and the resilience of businesses.
He said: “The board has created conversations between businesses and decision-makers that would never have happened otherwise.”
Mr Locke said there is also a clear understanding of where barriers remain.
Yvonne Asquith, Business Sheffield head of service, said the focus is “very much on practical change, rather than consultation for consultation’s sake”.
Immediate priorities agreed now include supporting hospitality businesses, further improving access to support and helping young people to become entrepreneurs.
There were some terse exchanges during the meeting because council rules during a pre-election period prevent councillors from making points that could benefit their party’s campaigning.
Six candidates are contesting a by-election in Walkley, to be held on September 17.
Reform UK member Coun Matt Smith said that white working class boys leaving school have the worst prospects.
He was warned by legal officer Sherrie Grant to make non-political statements, keeping to the point of the report.
Coun Smith said: “I don’t believe we should make concessions to any specific group. Everyone should be supported, whether they are disadvantaged or not, without the need to introduce race and diversity into this.”
He said one of his colleagues was “shut down” in another committee for making a simple point about school admissions because school capacity is affected by the Sheffield Local Plan.
Coun Robert Reiss said that he works with white working class boys in Stocksbridge, mentoring them about engineering careers.
“It’s brilliant what Ben and the team is doing in making sure that black and minority ethnic groups have that common way of communicating and building each other up.
“To say oh no it won’t work or it shouldn’t work or we should be doing it a different way I think is not a particularly useful way of talking the city up.”
Committee chair Coun Ben Miskell said he was proud of the work that has come out of the Race Equality Commission report.
“As a council, we haven’t just put it on a shelf. We’ve listened and worked to implement its recommendations, even though there’s still much more work to do.”
- The Walkley by-election was caused by the resignation of Green Party councillor Andy Davies. He took the seat on May 7 from Labour council leader Tom Hunt.
The candidates are Hannah Cawley (Labour), Isabelle Amy France (Trade Union and Socialist Coalition), Alex Purvis (Liberal Democrats), Andrew John Telford (Reform UK), Sonny Ullah (Conservative), Seb Van Bilsen Irias (Green Party).