Behind the scenes at CREME – Planning the Annual Ethnic Minority Business Conference

The Annual Ethnic Minority Business Conference is one of the main highlights in the CREME calendar each year. It is an opportunity for all of our stakeholders to meet up and hear about current developments in business support for ethnic minority businesses, new policy initiatives as well as CREME’s research projects.

It is now 14 years since the conference began and I have been involved in its organisation for 9 of those years. My first experience of this event was in 2000, when planning stages consisted of inviting a few speakers and sending out a mail shot by post. The planning, organisation and marketing activities have become far more detailed and sophisticated since then and each year we aim to continue to make the programme relevant for the conference audience.

The planning of the conference this year began in January with a search for a suitable venue and following an assessment of a number of options, the Ricoh Arena in Coventry was chosen. This year the conference will be showcasing the work of the Minority Ethnic Enterprise Centre of Expertise (MEECOE), a project led by CREME to develop strategic and innovative approaches to supporting ethnic minority businesses in the West Midlands. We therefore wanted to host the event in this region.

We then invited some of CREME’s key stakeholders (who have also been actively involved in the MEECOE project) to attend a series of meetings to plan the sessions at the event focussing on Business Support, Access to Finance and Access to Markets. We have been engaging with Dr Richard Roberts, SME Research Director at Barclays, Simon Leggett, Sales & Marketing Director at The Consortium and David Darlaston, Regional Director West Midlands at Business in the Community on a regular basis to develop the programme further. In particular, we have been focussing on moving away from a traditional format of presentations to give participants the opportunity to interact and contribute to debates via Q&As and panel discussions.

Over the next 12 weeks, activity in the CREME office will increase dramatically as I work with my colleague, Liv, on a whole host of activities such as publicising the event, dealing with bookings, liaising with sponsors, creating packs for the participants and making arrangements for the Gala Dinner (being held after the conference).

We will be looking forward to meeting the numerous people that we will be in contact with over the next few months at the reception desk on the morning of Thursday 14th October 2010.

For more details about the conference, please contact us at: creme@dmu.ac.uk

Liz Frost

EMB Conference Programme

Click on the images to see the programme for this year's Ethnic Minority Business Conference, to be held in Leicester on Oct 14.

Two Takes on Supplier Diversity

This year's Ethnic Minority Business Conference is fast approaching. This conference has regularly provided a platform for policy and practitioner initiatives designed to encourage small business owners to take advantages of supply chain opportunities in the large public and private sector organisations. This process is often referred to as supplier diversity; and it is clear that significant progress is being made to spread its influence. Our contributors to this session provide interesting accounts of the ways in which the private and public sector are responding to the challenge of promoting supplier diversity.

Mick Wain, Director and General Manager of Staples Advantage, provides a fascinating account of how a major multi-national corporation, with a strong presence in the Midlands, is working to develop partnership working with small firms from under-represented communities. A commitment to ‘give something back’ is a core feature of the Staples philosophy. Mick demonstrates how the company puts this into practice in its operations in the UK; and outlines the plans that Staples has to develop activities in the Midlands.

For supplier diversity to succeed, small firms seeking to secure access to contracts have to be ‘fit to supply’. They have to have the capacity and capabilities required to comply with the often demanding requirements of large organisations. For many years, Supply London has been assisting small firms to make the leap to becoming suppliers to large firms. Michael Gutierrez, Supply Chain Advisor of Supply London, describes the crucial role that this organisation has played in supporting small firms, often run by ethnic minorities, to pursue their ambitions to become suppliers to large organisations.

There are important lessons here for other parts of the country, and for anyone interested in how procurement can promote economic development as well as entrepreneurial growth.

Regional Business Support in the Spotlight at EMB Conference

The East Midlands is one of the most diverse and entrepreneurial regions in England. It is home to some of the most advanced and sophisticated ‘knowledge’ driven business in the country; and, at the same time, benefits from a considerable rural landscape which itself generates significant entrepreneurial activity.

East Midlands Business Ltd. (EMB Ltd.) is a body charged with the challenging task of ensuring that all the region’s businesses have the opportunity to take advantage of support that will enable them to survive, develop and grow. Given the challenging economic climate, this role has never been more important. Stephen Smith, Chief Executive of EMB Ltd, will set out the steps that have been taken to support the region’s businesses through the recession and towards economic recovery. EMB Ltd. is acutely aware of the region’s diverse business base, including the significant numbers of ethnic minority entrepreneurs that operate in the East Midlands. Stephen will outline key initiatives to support these and other diverse groups in business. Importantly, EMB Ltd. is in the process of recruiting a number of ‘community-based’ business advisers whose key task will be to encourage and support ‘under-represented’ groups in the region. At the other end of the spectrum, EMB Ltd. has actively encouraged growing ethnic minority businesses to take advantage of supply chain opportunities with large organisations in the public and private sector.

Working in partnership is central to the operation of EMB Ltd. Together with the Economic and Social Research Council, EMB Ltd has supported CREME to deliver an innovative project to support the region’s new migrant entrepreneurs. For the last year, Alex Kiselinchev and Lovemore Muchenje of CREME have been working closely with EMB Ltd to encourage new migrants to develop their businesses. Alex and Lovemore share their experiences of working on this project, including:-

• The considerable interest in entrepreneurship as a career option amongst new migrants
• New migrant involvement in a diverse range of business activities
• Unacknowledged human capital within many businesses
• A lack of awareness of the existence and role of ‘mainstream’ business support agencies
• Active interest in pursuing appropriate support to develop and their businesses
• A willingness to engage with business support professionals

-Prof Monder Ram-

More Speakers Confirmed for EMB Conference

More speakers have been confirmed for the EMB Conference on Oct 14.

Alex Kiselinchev and Lovemore Muchenje, researchers at CREME, De Montfort University, and Stephen Smith, Chief Executive of East Midlands Business Ltd, will be speaking during the session 'Business Support: a Regional Perspective'.

Speaking on 'Promoting Supply Chain Opportunities' will be Mick Wain, Director and General Manager of Staples Advantage and Michael Gutierrez, Supply Chain Advisor for Supply London.

Introducing: The MEECOE Legacy Group

Who cares about ethnic minority enterprise? Public sector bodies will probably fall over themselves to answer this question in the affirmative, shouting loudly about the different policies and measures that they have in place to support ethnic minorities and other diverse groups. The public sector has usually been most prominent in the development of initiatives to support ethnic minority enterprise. This is to be welcomed. But have you ever wondered how major organisations, apart from publicly funded agencies, view ethnic minority entrepreneurs? I am thinking about the finance industry that shapes access to a vital resource for any small firm: money. What about large private sector companies? They often talk about the importance of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’; but what does it actually mean, and what is its relevance to ethnic minority entrepreneurs? And, in a legal sense, how do we ensure that there is a ‘level playing field’ for ethnic minorities and other diverse groups involved in business? In this pivotal session of the 13th Annual Ethnic Minority Business Conference, we bring together representatives of key organisations to help answer these neglected questions.

Gerard Chick of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) kicks off the session with an important presentation on the role that procurers in large organisation can play in promoting diversity in their supply chains. Policy-makers are increasingly recognising that procurement can be used to pursue boarder social objectives, for example, economic regeneration and equality. Gerard, Head of Knowledge Management at CIPS, has been a strong advocate of ‘sustainable procurement’, recognising the fact competitiveness and fairness are inextricably linked.

Most small firms turn to their accountant for advice on all sorts of issues. Research suggests that accountants are a major resource for the development of small businesses, and that their influence extends well beyond the provision of technical advice. Rosana Mirkovic, Senior Policy Advisor at the Association of Chartered & Certified Accountants (ACCA), will outline the key role that accountants play in supporting small firms and the plans that the ACCA have to enhance their understanding of ethnic minority entrepreneurs. Recent research by CREME on the ACCA membership has highlighted the key role that ethnic minority accountants play in supporting other ethnic minority businesses.

David Darlaston, Regional Director of Business in the Community (BiTC) in the West Midlands, has been at the forefront of attempts to engage the corporate sector on a wider range of community-related initiatives. These have included programmes on mentoring, economic regeneration and supplier diversity. At the Conference, David will report on the latest developments to enhance links between the region’s corporate sector and ethnic minority entrepreneurs.

Important legislative changes are afoot that will have potentially significant implications for the issue of diversity in a wide range of organisations. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has a key role in implementing the Single Equality Duty which arises from the Equality Bill. Alan Christie, Director of Policy at the EHRC, will spell out what these developments mean for the public and private sector. As recent research by the EHRC suggests, the renewed attention to diversity signalled by these changes could improve the prospects for ethnic minority entrepreneurs.

The four speakers are members of the ‘Legacy Group’ of the West Midlands ‘Minority Ethnic Enterprise Centre for Expertise’ (MEECOE). Funded by Advantage West Midlands, MEECOE is an exciting two-year project that will promote a strategic and innovative approach to supporting ethnic minority businesses in the West Midlands. A consortium led by de Montfort University’s Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship will work with public and private sector stakeholders to enhance policy and practice for ethnic minority enterprise in the region. Legacy Group members are committed to pursuing activies to promoted ethnic minority enterprise.

-Prof Monder Ram-

13th EMB Conference Announced

The 13th Annual Ethnic Minority Business Conference will be taking place on Wednesday, 14 October 2009 at Leicester Tigers Rugby Ground, Welford Road.

Hosted by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at De Montfort University, the Conference will provide a platform for the presentation of cutting-edge research and policy initiatives on ethnic minority entrepreneurship.

You can book your place from today. To request a booking form, please contact us on creme@dmu.ac.uk

Click on the image below to see the flyer.

Michael Carr to Speak at EMB Conference

The East Midlands Development Agency (emda) has often been at the forefront of innovations to support small businesses. In recent years, it has received acclaim for its approach to ‘business simplification’, social enterprise and the manufacturing sector. As Michael Carr, Director of Business Support at emda, will explain at the 13th Annual EMB Conference on Oct 14, the Agency is set to continue this pioneering role by assuming the national policy leadership role for ethnic minority enterprise in England.

emda takes over from the Government’s ‘National Ethnic Minority Business Task Force’, which concluded its work with the presentation of a report to Lord Mandelson in July this year. It will be emda’s task to implement the findings arising from the Task Force’s report. At the EMB Conference, Michael Carr will report on the steps that the Agency has already taken to ensure that this challenging task of providing effective national support for ethnic minority enterprise is being pursued in a strategic and coordinated way.

It promises to be informative presentation on the important steps and initiatives that are being pursued by Regional Development Agencies around the country on a subject that is bound to loom large in an election year.

Professor David Asch to Open EMB Conference

Professor David Asch, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of De Montfort University, will deliver the Opening Address at the 13th Annual Ethnic Minority Business Conference on Oct 14th. At Leicester's De Montfort University, David is responsible for the day to day operations including all aspects of strategy and planning for the institution as a whole. He joined De Montfort as Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law in 2001.

David has written over 50 books and papers on strategy, management and change, and has advised the senior teams of Allianz-Cornhill Insurance, BAA, Ernst & Young, Fujitsu/ICL, Sun Microsystems, the SAS Institute and Xerox. He has also been advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and an external advisor to the World Bank on distance learning in developing countries.

He is a Board Member for Culture East Midlands, Regeneration East Midlands, the Leicester Regeneration Company and Leicestershire Business Voice. David also sits on the Partnership Board overseeing the development of the city’s new Digital Media Centre.

Speakers Added to EMB Conference

David Darlaston, Regional Director of Business in the Community, and Alan Christie, Director of Policy at the Equality & Human Rights Commission, have been added to the list of speakers for the Ethnic Minority Business Conference taking place on Oct 14 in Leicester.

Already confirmed were Gerard Chick, (Head of Knowledge Management at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply), Rosana Mirkovic (Senior Policy Adviser at the Association of Chartered & Certified Accountants), and Stephen Smith (CEO of East Midlands Business Ltd).

13th Annual Ethnic Minority Business Conference - Save the Date

CREME is pleased to announce the date for this year's Ethnic Minority Business Conference. Click on the image above to read our announcement.

The conference will take place in the brand new stand of the Leicester Tigers Rugby Ground, Welford Road, on 14th October 2009.

Updates about speakers, the full programme and the delegate rate will be posted soon.