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<p>The Ethnic Minority Business and Access to Finance review has raised awareness
and encouraged engagement between the banking community and ethnic minority businesses.
The report was published in July 2013 with a plan for action. <br><br>The actions
were addressed primarily at the industry, British Bankers' Association and others
including Local Enterprise Partnerships, supported by Government. Progress against
the actions is set out below. <br><br>Action 1: Spreading the Word<br><br>The banking
community continues to work with accountants, business groups and specialist business
networks through the Enterprise Diversity Alliance and other forums such as the National
Black Women's Network and the Yorkshire Asian Business Association, to raise awareness
of the range of support available. This has included developing finance guides, refreshing
the Better Business Finance website to make it more friendly, and running a national
campaign aimed at all SMEs to inform them of the support available, including the
appeals process if rejected for finance. <br><br>These details have been made available
to ethnic minority businesses through key regional events, newsletters, and the various
partners and networks that sit on the British Bankers' Association Diversity and Inclusion
Business Council launched in 2014. The Authority also sits on the advisory group of
the Enterprise Diversity Alliance, with a number of banks who also run specific Enterprise
Diversity Alliance business support and finance work-streams.<br><br>Action 2: Making
support easier to access<br><br>The British Bankers' Association, with banks, has
run a series of mentoring workshops and because of these, and follow up bank support,
some ethnic minority businesses have created their own mentoring networks and many
of these businesses have taken up mentoring support. Events are held in areas with
a high concentration of ethnic minority businesses notably Leicester, London, Wolverhampton
and Birmingham, to raise awareness, understanding and build confidence in accessing
finance. <br><br>Specialist mentoring is offered to ethnic minority businesses through
mentoring organisations such as Business in the Community, Capital Enterprises and
SCA Management Consulting Ltd. If a mentee wishes to specify a particular ethnicity
for their mentor they can do so at the matching stage. <br><br>Action 3: Promote the
alternatives<br><br>The Government is legislating through the Small Business, Enterprise
and Employment Bill to require large banks to refer declined small business finance
applications to online platforms, who will seek to match businesses seeking finance
to alternative lenders. Community Development Finance Institutions will be able to
access these platforms alongside a range of other lenders, including challenger banks
and peer-to-peer lenders. This proposal will help put small businesses seeking finance
in touch with lenders who may be able to help them.<br><br>Action 4: Use Local Enterprise
Partnerships to best advantage<br><br>Local Enterprise Partnerships have been established
as voluntary partnerships and are encouraged by Government to ensure that their boards
are representative of the businesses in their locality, and are not dominated by a
single group or organisation.<br><br>Action 5: Expanding our understanding<br><br>The
2013 Ethnic Minority Business report http://www.sme-finance-monitor.co.uk/ was published
earlier this year. The 2014 report is due to be published in January 2015. This work,
coupled with that of the bank and BIS supported Enterprise Research Centre, is being
used by the British Bankers' Association's Diversity and Inclusion Business Council
to determine policy actions to take forward.<br><br>Action 6: Supporting the dialogue<br><br>The
Ethnic Moinority Business representation at the Business Finance Roundtable is through
Professor Monder Ram of Birmingham University who runs the Enterprise Diversity Alliance,
co-leads the Enterprise Research Centre diversity work and is a member of DWP's Ethnic
Minority Employment Stakeholder Group. Alongside this sits the British Bankers' Association
Diversity and Inclusion Business Council launched in 2014 which includes the leading
Ethnic Minority Business experts and networks. <br><br>As actions have been progressing
since 2013, no further Ministerial meetings have taken place.<br><br></p>
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