Community Business Incubator
Aimed at providing a bridge to the BME community to assist in the creation of innovative businesses by providing culturally sensitive support, encouraging development and growth of BME businesses to achieve greater success. As business incubation specialists, Partnership WTP are providing the incubation knowledge and commercial approach to develop this unique partnership approach.
his proposition - to look more closely at how to appropriately support entrepreneurs from BME communities - developed from the understanding that there is a shortfall in the take-up of mainstream business support services within the minority communities and that there is a need to bridge that gap.This document summarises the key features of the Ethnic Business Incubator feasibility study. The study will cover the operational and financial issues involved in providing start-up business support services to the local ethnic communities. It will also address the question of how this support can ensure it is accessible to entrepreneurs from BME communities.
Concept
The concept for our Ethnic Community Business Incubator is therefore to create a bridge for the BME community which will allow them to access the support they need to create start-up businesses, and enable existing businesses to grow and achieve greater success. In the wider Manchester area the ethnic communities are a diverse group of cultures and the stakeholders in the BME Incubator will need to reflect this. We anticipate that they will involve a partnership of both established and emerging organisations able to deliver culturally sensitive business support: Minority businesses do not lack innovation or creativity, however they do lack support which can be tailored to fit their needs as individuals and businesses which will differ depending on the development of the entrepreneur, the business and the community they are rooted in.
Intention
Our concept has been developed as a result of Tung Sing's long experience of working with excluded communities throughout the Greater Manchester area. Their experience suggests that entrepreneurs do exist, but fail to take the necessary steps to establish or flourish. The feasibility study aims to understand and quantify the problems of potential, new and emerging BME businesses and to address the high failure rate due to lack of appropriate business support services.
This feasibility study will identify the core service and delivery requirements of the Ethnic Business Incubator which will enable it to complement and enhance existing services and act as a bridge between the communities and the support available from the mainstream providers.
Our aim is to augment existing communities by offering enterprise options introducing greater diversity and advice to entrepreneurs who are furthest away from mainstream. There is a need for ‘outreach' services which can be flexible and offer more opportunities and activities within the communities, outside any traditional incubation centre.
The incubation support must also offer sufficient rigour to develop the businesses so that they are in a position to become successful, however this must be delivered in a flexible and responsive fashion. There is also the need for the social enterprise aspects of the projects to be integral to the project and its support services.
The size and scope of the incubator is to be determined in the study and importantly the partnership organisations involved and the long term sustainability. Financial viability for the Ethnic Incubator will be a key factor in establishment. The integration of the support systems delivered by established service providers and agencies also needs to be clarified for the long term bridging success.
Current Partners
The Ethnic Business Incubator will develop through partnerships with complementary BME community and business organisations, which have indicated support and enthusiasm for the project.
Lead partner Tung Sing Housing Association has a good track record of providing services within the Chinese and other ethnic minority communities of Greater Manchester and is now dedicated to providing development, management and maintenance of properties to all ethnic minority communities. (http://www.tungsing.co.uk/). "We have 20 years experience of providing culturally specific services through involvement and consultation within the BME Communities. This proposal is very much part of our ongoing responsibilities as a registered social landlord to assist our existing tenants, and new and emerging communities to enhance their quality of life through various support services." [Chief Executive, Janis Wong]
Business incubation specialists, Partnership WTP are providing incubation knowledge and the commercial approach to develop the viable Ethnic Incubator. Their experience of developing and establishing the Manchester Business School Incubator shows the potential for innovation in this field and the development of multi-partner successful organisations.
Next Steps
The purpose of the Ethnic Community Business Incubator is to directly provide culturally sensitive business support services to turn any good business idea into reality. The business incubator will also act as a mechanism to access mainstream professional and technical advice for new enterprises that originate from entrepreneurs within the broad range of ethnic communities in the Greater Manchester region.
If you wish to contribute and/or be involved in the longer term please feel free to contact us;
Sophy Hallam, sophy@partnershipWTP.co.uk, 07967 144 230
Project sponsored by:
