West Yorkshire’s black business stars take centre stage at Leeds film premiere

A new film has put West Yorkshire’s black entrepreneurs into the spotlight, as part of a new campaign designed to inspire the next generation of business founders to follow in their footsteps.
 
Business leaders and entrepreneurs from across West Yorkshire came together at the Leeds Everyman Cinema yesterday (4 June), for an exclusive premiere of a new film celebrating the thriving community of black-owned businesses that exists across the region.
 
The short film – commissioned by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and produced by the Leeds-based filmmaker Luke Walwyn – features 16 black-owned businesses, each of them leading the way in sectors ranging from arts and health to retail and business services. In the film, inspiring local figures share their personal stories of aspiration, resilience and success.
 
Among those featured are Sharon Watson MBE, Artistic Director of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance; Ndidi Nkwopara, Creative Producer of the Leeds International African Arts Festival; and Sola and Solomon Abuede, founders of Midway Pharmacy.
 
With the backing of the West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, the film kickstarts a campaign aimed at raising the visibility of black entrepreneurship across the region, demonstrating to aspiring business founders that West Yorkshire is the best place for everyone to start, scale or relocate a business in the country.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“Our great region is home to extraordinary entrepreneurs, and this film is about making sure their stories are heard so they can inspire the next generation.
 
“Too often, our talented black business owners have unfairly faced the biggest barriers to accessing investment or mentorship, and we’re on a mission to change that.
 
“Our Local Growth Plan is about supporting all our local businesses to succeed, so we can create good jobs and build a stronger, better off West Yorkshire."
 
The idea for the film came from the region’s Black Business Group – a collection of entrepreneurs brought together to advise Mayor Brabin, her business advisor Mandy Ridyard, and the wider West Yorkshire Business Board, on how best to engage entrepreneurs of colour in business support networks.
 
Both the group’s recommendations and the Combined Authority’s own market research pointed to the importance of increasing visibility for aspiring business owners, who need to see people like themselves who have succeeded in their ventures in order to believe that they can succeed, too.
 
As of 2022, 11% of West Yorkshire’s business owners were from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, yet they remain underrepresented among the businesses currently accessing support. Nationally, they add £25 billion a year to the UK economy. Research by Aston University estimates that if ethnic minority businesses received the same level of support as their white counterparts at a national level, that could rise to £100 billion annually.

Valentina Hynes, CEO of SVH Inc. and a member of the Black Business Group at the Combined Authority, said:

“When aspiring entrepreneurs see people who look and sound like them, from communities just like theirs, who are building thriving businesses here in West Yorkshire, it sends a powerful message that they can do this too.
 
“But this is beyond visibility. This film creates a roadmap of inspiration and insight for aspiring black leaders across our industries, confirming that they’re not doing this alone, and that the Combined Authority is a reliable partner in their journey.”
 
The film follows the launch and ongoing delivery of the region’s Local Growth Plan, which sets out an ambition to help all businesses succeed, alongside targeted investment to help West Yorkshire’s fastest growing sectors to grow even faster, creating well paying jobs at scale.
 
This ambition means taking deliberate steps to remove the barriers that black and minority ethnic entrepreneurs face – from a lack of visible role models, to difficulties accessing finance.
 
The Combined Authority has recently launched its Business Growth Hub – a free, self-service, online space that brings together the full range of business support that exists across the region, making it easier for every entrepreneur to access the support they need to thrive, regardless of their background or experience.
 
The Growth Hub sets out to ensure that local businesses can access the finance, skills, workspace, markets, innovation and promotion they need to grow, create good jobs, and contribute to a brighter West Yorkshire that works for all.

Mandy Ridyard, Business Advisor to the Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“Great businesses need great support, and our Growth Hub is all about making sure that every entrepreneur who needs it, gets it – not just those who already know where to look for it.
 
“This film, and the ongoing work of the Black Business Group and the wider Business Board, is helping us create the confident, inspiring and supportive ecosystem our businesses need to succeed.
 
“Together, we’re sending a clear message that West Yorkshire is where opportunity lives.”

Luke Walwyn, Director of Luke Walwyn Studios, said:

“Making this film has been a privilege. Every person I spoke with had an extraordinary story of creativity, determination and sheer hard work.
 
“These are West Yorkshire’s great business pioneers, and I hope that by sharing their journeys, we’ll give others the confidence to begin their own.”
 
The film, titled Minding Our Own Business, is the first step in a broader, sustained drive to bring more black and ethnic minority business owners into contact with the support networks and growth opportunities that exist across West Yorkshire.
 
The premiere was a sold out event, with over 100 attendees and a second screening to be held over the next few weeks, reflecting the appetite that exists to see more stories that showcase black business success in West Yorkshire.
 
The film can be viewed here.
 
The business leaders featured in the film include:
 
•    Bolu Fagborun – Fagborun Limited (business services)
•    Chris Peltier – The Real McCoy (arts)
•    Dean Wiltshire – DWilts Clothing (retail)
•    Emmanuel's Afro-Caribbean Superstore (food retail)
•    Justin Taundi – Breaking Barriers Tennis Association (sport)
•    Linda Dube – TLS Social Care (health)
•    Lucy Ndlovu – Progressive Talent CIC (business services)
•    Luke Rosser – CPR Business Management (business services)
•    Maybellene Arthurton – Community & Education Centre (community)
•    Ndidi Nkwopara – Leeds International African Arts Festival (arts)
•    Patricia Jones – Ship Away (arts)
•    Saskia Roskam – the Biskery (food retail)
•    Sharon Clarke – PopSpecs (health retail)
•    Sharon Watson MBE – Northern School of Contemporary Dance (arts)
•    SJ Adams – Confidence with SJ (business services)
•    Sola and Solomon Abuede – Midway Pharmacy (health retail)