Startup 54
University of Hertfordshire
Startup 54
University of Hertfordshire
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Wray Forward Community
1,987
Businesses in the Community
65%
Businesess Led by Women
180
Hours of Free Learning
21+
Industries Represented
Digital Resilience
for our Communities
Black owned businesses make up 4% of the business population in the UK, yet they provide over 70,000 jobs and have a turnover of almost £4.5 billion – which is growing. (source: Greater London Authority). However, Black entrepreneurs are still being held back with limited access to financial support, education, and opportunities (source: British Business Bank).
Community is who we are and why we are here, and it’s time to give back. As a nationwide initiative, Wray Forward aims to support UK Black business owners across the country by improving access, promoting ownership and facilitating growth.
Community Events 2023
We have chosen 6 key workshop themes to support your development journey. They begin with understanding your individual talents and leveraging them to drive your entrepreneurial pursuits to support your business to scale and grow. These workshops will run from July to November 2023 and will be a mix of IRL and Virtual sessions.
Law & Order: Business Edition
The Magic behind mastering Legal Principles for Growing Businesses
Legals and Law is a must for every entrepreneur and this session will ensure that you have no blindspots when getting your business in order. Uncover the intricacies of intellectual property, develop strategies to safeguard your assets, and gain proficiency in the art of contracts, ensuring your venture thrives on a solid legal foundation.
Show Me
the Money
Master the art of developing realistic financial projections and budgets
Our next session will focus on all things finance. We will be by unlocking the secrets of fundraising and capital sourcing in this comprehensive workshop. You will gain financial literacy, craft realistic projections, manage cash flow effectively, and explore various funding options to secure your venture's success.
The Unicorn
Blueprint
A Rapid-fire masterclass on building a billion-dollar startup
Embark on a thrilling journey to transform yourself and your startup into a billion-dollar powerhouse in this rapid-fire masterclass. Harness the power of data-driven growth hacking and strategic expansion, while maintaining a balanced approach to growth, profitability, and sustainability.
Music Business Ownership Accelerator
Black ownership in music is an issue we are committed to solving. We’ve built an intensive free virtual 3-month accelerator helping Black business owners in music increase visibility, scale up their business, and access investment.
The programme will run from September to December 2023 and will be a mix of IRL and Virtual sessions. Applications will be launching soon, click the link below to register your interest in the programme.
Why this programme, Why now?
The pandemic drove entrepreneurial spirit, with over 835,000 businesses registered in the UK, with a 42% increase vs 2019 (source: Small Business UK). Though according to the British Business Bank, Black entrepreneurs are still being held back with limited access to financial support, education and opportunities.
In particular, the music industry was one of the hardest hit segments - employment plunged by 35% and the industry’s economic contribution fell by 46% (source: Music Business Week). Despite some improvements in recent years, racism remains rife with 86% of people saying they have faced barriers to their career due to race (source: Black Lives in Music Report). The Wray Forward programme aims to support our entrepreneurial community by improving access and facilitating growth.
Wray Forward is a free programme built to change and support the foundations of our community.
Wray Forward is a pioneering, first-of-its-kind project to support the growth of both community businesses as well as the enterprises behind the artists we know and love.