BE ME: Black and Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurs

BE ME is a six-week programme specifically designed for Black and Ethnic Minority entrepreneurs.

Representation matters. But when it comes to starting a company, we know there are barriers for ethnic minority business owners.

That's why the Essex Startups Team are delivering this programme aimed at helping to tackle the inequalities that under-represented start-up founders face.

Our BE ME programme is designed to bring together better access to business support and opportunities to pitch for funding.

Each session takes place on a Wednesday from 10am-12.30pm, starting 24 January 2024.

Programme schedule:

Week 1: 24 January - Purpose, Goals and Resilience: Information on your why, values, mindset and self-reflection with a focus on growth mindset and confidence. Additionally, creating SMART goals, healthy habits, overcoming obstacles and planning.
Guest speaker: Kay Kukoyi, The Purposeful Group

Week 2: 31 January - Design Thinking: Building a business model/type, introducing the Business Model Canvas (BMC), market research, consumer journey and competitor analysis.
Guest speaker: Amit Patel, Experience Haus

Week 3: 7 February - Marketing and Branding. Focus on personal and business branding as well as marketing strategy.
Guest speaker: Babita Devi, bStrategic

Week 4: 14 February - Finance, Growth, and Investment: Covering essential financial processes and documents and how to scale your business, how to pitch your financial aspects and micro-grants.
Guest speakers: Magdalena Mahdy, Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Essex and Bimbi Philips, Travel Jinni

Week 5: 21 February - Protoyping and Testing: Discover how to validate a design before development starts and identify problems early on to build a product that meets user needs and expectations.
Guest speaker: Amit Patel, Experience Haus

Week 6: 28 February – Pitching: Discover how to prepare a top pitch for funding.
Guest speaker: Dubem Menakaya, Transformative Coach

After completion of all six weeks, participants will have the chance to pitch their business ideas to win a share of £1,000 to develop the business idea.

The pitching event will be held on Wednesday 6 March 2024.

You must attend all six weeks of the programme to be eligible to pitch for funding.

Please note: All sessions will be held in person in Studio X on the Colchester Campus.

This programme is open to all those from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. This includes those from Arab and GRT backgrounds.

Please complete the application form to be considered for the programme, without a complete application you will not be eligible to attend the sessions. Spaces are limited to 25 participants, and you will be contacted to inform you of the outcome.