Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship to host business masterclass for King’s Award for Enterprise
The event is aimed at supporting businesses in applying for the 2025 King’s Award for Enterprise The masterclass will feature presentations from the West Midlands Lieutenancy How to be a winner will be held on Friday 10 May 2024. The Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at Aston University is to host a special masterclass to encourage and support companies to apply for a prestigious business award.
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility.
The event, How to be a winner, will be held on Friday 10 May 2024 from 15:00 to 17:00 BST at Aston University’s headquarters in John Cadbury House in Birmingham.
CREME, in collaboration with the West Midlands Lieutenancy, is hosting this masterclass to guide businesses through the application process and share insights from previous award winners. Applications for the 2025 King’s Award for Enterprise open in May 2024.
Organisations who receive a King’s Award are presented with the award at their company by one of The King’s representatives, a Lord-Lieutenant, are invited to a Royal reception, able to fly The King’s Awards flag at their main office, use the emblem on their marketing materials and are given a Grant of Appointment (an official certificate) and a commemorative crystal trophy. The awards are valid for 5 years.
The masterclass will feature a presentation by the West Midlands Deputy Lieutenants’ John Wood and Tom Westley, who will provide a detailed overview of the application process. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to hear firsthand from past winners about their journey to success and the tangible benefits derived from winning a King's Award for Enterprise.
Professor Monder Ram OBE DL, director of CREME, said:
“The King's Award for Enterprise is without a doubt the most prestigious accolade that any UK company can receive. The boost to your business, particularly internationally, and to company morale is immense.
“I encourage West Midlands-based businesses to join us for this insightful event which will be an excellent opportunity to learn from industry experts and gain valuable knowledge on how to position your business for success.”
The masterclass is free to attend and interested parties can register their interest here.
Eligibility for the categories can be checked here.
·
4 min
New Aston University report sets out blueprint for advancing the growth potential of ethnic minority businesses in the UK
The Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) has partnered with NatWest for the Time to Change report It sets out ten evidence-based recommendations for advancing the growth potential of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) including increasing their GVA contribution from the current £25 billion a year to £100 billion The report is being launched at a special event on 10 May at NatWest Conference Centre in London with keynote speaker Sir Trevor Philips OBE. A new report from Aston University has set out a plan for advancing the growth potential of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) in the UK.
The Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) has partnered with NatWest for the Time to Change report which sets out ten evidence-based recommendations to promote greater success and inclusion of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) in finance and business support in the UK.
Experts say the implementation of the recommendations could help tackle the multiple barriers faced by EMBs, particularly in accessing finance, markets and quality business support, and could increase their GVA contribution from the current £25 billion a year to £100 billion, highlighting the significant potential of EMBs to the UK economy.
The report says that to combat racial inequality, there should be a UK-wide support for ethnic led businesses should be a standard feature of all future plans. This includes integrating them into broader policy agendas of inclusive growth, productivity and innovation.
A more inclusive approach to enterprise is key to tackling wider social structural barriers such as unequal access to employment opportunities and product markets, and gender and ethnicity pay gaps.
Concerted action is needed to support the growth ambitions of EMBs, particularly in light of damaging consequences of the pandemic for ethnic minority communities.
The report calls for a strong action to eliminate the longstanding challenge of discouragement of ethnic minority entrepreneurs from seeking finance and business support.
It found EMBs have been particularly hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic due to the sectors in which they tend to operate and recommends recovery support is focussed on the businesses that need it most.
The report also highlights the need for greater accountability of organisations across public, private and third sectors, including business support agencies, finance providers and large purchasing organisations, for their business engagement with EMBs.
Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship at Aston Business School, said:
“This major report sets out an ambitious yet practical agenda to realise the potential of UK’s ethnic minority businesses. “The entrepreneurial ambition of ethnic minorities can play a crucial role in the UK Government’s vision of ‘Levelling Up’ prosperity across regions, promoting trade opportunities of ‘Global Britain’ and creating a more cohesive society. “Drawing on the latest research and examples of international best practice, the report presents a comprehensive approach to tackling the barriers faced by firms owned by ethnic minority communities. “We pinpoint key challenges and present recommendations – informed by extensive consultation with business support practitioners and entrepreneurs – that invite policy-makers, corporations and entrepreneurs to collaborate in a new partnership to advance entrepreneurial activities and the UK’s diverse communities.” The report calls for central government and local decision makers to develop clear objectives for inclusive entrepreneurship, informed by evidence, and ensure that EMBs can access quality business support that helps them grow.
Dr Eva Kašperová, a research fellow at CREME, said:
“To address the barriers faced by EMBs and help them realise their entrepreneurial potential will require commitment and leadership from the government as well as local business support ecosystem actors. “The current lack of an explicit UK-wide policy on inclusive entrepreneurship could mean that some parts of the country are left behind in terms of tackling structural inequalities and enabling entrepreneurs from ethnic minority communities and other under-represented or disadvantaged groups to access finance, wider markets and quality business support. “If past experience is a guide, ensuring commitment from key stakeholders may be the biggest challenge.” Andrew Harrison, head of Business Banking at NatWest Group, said:
“As the UK’s biggest bank for business, we’re committed to championing small businesses and supporting growth, but we know that there are barriers which disproportionately affect Ethnic Minority Businesses (EMBs). “This is why we aim for at least 20% of the places on our 13 nationwide accelerator hubs to be for ethnic minority entrepreneurs. In 2021, 26% of businesses in our hubs were EMBs. “Only close collaboration can deliver meaningful change to ensure EMBs get the support they need to reach their full potential. Now is the time to accelerate action, and at NatWest we commit to playing an integral role in the change that is required.” The Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) will share this report, inviting policy-makers, corporations and entrepreneurs to come together in a collaborative and strategic partnership to champion enterprise and advance entrepreneurial activities and the UKs diverse communities, further building an inclusive entrepreneurial eco-system supporting businesses to thrive at a launch event at NatWest Conference Centre in London on 10 May.
·
2 min
Aston University professor made deputy lieutenant for the West Midlands
Professor Monder Ram has been recognised for his work around ethnic minority entrepreneurship Six individuals have been given the honour for contributing significantly to either national life, to their local communities – or both He will support the Lord-Lieutenant in several ways including attending on Royalty during official visits to the County. The Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, John Crabtree OBE, has announced the appointment of an Aston University professor as a deputy lieutenant for the West Midlands.
Six individuals, whose backgrounds range from music to education, entrepreneurship, and tackling homelessness, have been given the honour for contributing significantly to either national life, to their local communities – or both.
Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at Aston University, has been recognised for his work around ethnic minority entrepreneurship.
The new appointees will support the Lord-Lieutenant, Her Majesty’s personal representative in the West Midlands, in several ways including attending on Royalty during official visits to the County, representation at citizenship ceremonies, supporting the armed forces of the Crown particularly the reserve and cadet forces, encouraging charitable and voluntary work and local initiatives to benefit the community, as well as promoting and encouraging nominations for Honours and Queen’s Awards for the County of the West Midlands.
Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at Aston University, said:
“I am delighted and honoured to be appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands region. This role will provide an invaluable opportunity for me promote the importance of diversity, inclusion and enterprise, which are central to my work at CREME.” The West Midlands Lieutenancy comprises Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. It was established in 1974.
John Crabtree OBE, the Lord-Lieutenant for the West Midlands and Aston University honorary graduate, said:
“The six appointments came at a pivotal time for the West Midlands which this year is on the national and world stage with Coventry as UK City of Culture and the region hosting the Commonwealth Games in July and August as well as participating fully in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The West Midlands is this year welcoming visitors from throughout the world and the West Midlands Lieutenancy is committed to supporting and representing every community in the County.”
Show More +
Media
Social
Biography
Professor Monder Ram OBE is the Director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME). He is a leading authority on small business and ethnic minority entrepreneurship research and has published widely on the subject, and has extensive experience of working in and acting as a consultant to small and ethnic minority businesses. Monder is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences, and advises the government on the importance and value of ethnic minority businesses through his position on the APPG for BAME Business Owners. He also holds visiting positions at Warwick University and the University of Turku.
Areas of Expertise
Industrial Sociology
Migrant and Refugee Entrepreneurship
SMEs in the West Midlands
Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship
SMEs
Education
University of Warwick, Warwick Business School
PhD
1992
‘Management, Control, Ethnicity and the Labour Process’
University of Warwick, Warwick Business School
MA
1987
University of Central England in Birmingham
DMS
1986
University of Central England in Birmingham
BA
1984
Show All +
Affiliations
UNITEE (New European Business Confederation) : Member
Research Advisory Group for the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission : Member
Local Advisory Group, Birmingham Common Purpose : Chair
Queen’s Award for Enterprise : Member of the Judging Panel
EXCLUSIVE: Asians ‘completely forgotten’ by government during Covid
Eastern Eye online
2020-10-28
Ethnic minority businesses at risk.
The need for support is echoed by Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at Aston University in Birmingham.
Aston University highlights the importance of c-stores
TalkingRetail online
2020-06-10
Professor Monder Ram, the director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship at Aston Business School, was also interviewed for the podcast, and said resilient Asian retail businesses were among the “heroes” of the pandemic.
Birmingham’s ‘cheap and cheerful’ curry houses face closures due to social distancing
Birmingham Mail online
2020-06-06
Price rises to ‘realistic levels’ may be needed, according to Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship at Aston Business School, who fears more than a third of curry houses are under threat.
Virtual round table on BAME business owners’ Covid-19 response
EasternEye online
2020-06-02
APPG chair and shadow minister digital, culture, media and sport Chi Onwurah MP will chair the event, which will see participation from Professor Monder Ram from the centre for research in ethnic minority entrepreneurship and the NatWest Bank’s business inclusion programme manager Sharniya Ferdinand, long time diversity advocate, Baroness Burt of Solihull and Chair of BAME Business Policy for the FSB Diana Chrouch.
Third of curry houses may not reopen following lockdown
Express & Star online
2020-06-02
The impact could actually be worse,according to Professor Monder Ram, Director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship at Aston Business School, unless venues invested and raised prices to realistic levels.
Coronavirus in the UK: Why thousands of the UK’s curry houses probably won’t be able to reopen
iNews online
2020-06-01
Professor Monder Ram, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship at Aston Business School, which is part of the university, works to support, develop, and modernise small businesses, chiefly those run by people from minorities.
Unfinished Business: Moving Closer to Building an Inclusive Ecosystem for Growth in Disadvantaged Areas
Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise
Oct 2018 – Sept 2019
ENCOMPASS: Engaging Communities, Publics and Society
Natural Environment Research Council
Oct 2017-Oct 2018
Building an Inclusive Ecosystem
Economic Social and Research Council $6187
April 2017- Jan 2018
The Impact of the National Living Wage on Small Firms
Low Pay Commission
Feb 2017 – Dec 2017
Building an Inclusive Ecosystem for Growth in Disadvantaged Areas
Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise
Oct 2016 – May 2018
Show All +
Articles
The Roots of Informal Responses to Regulatory Change: Non‐compliant Small Firms and the National Living Wage
British Journal of Management
Monder Ram, Paul Edwards, Guglielmo Meardi, Trevor Jones, Sabina Doldor
2019-05-02
How do small ‘non‐compliant’ firms (those evading existing regulations) react to further regulatory change? The impact of the National Living Wage in the UK in 2016 is analysed through 22 mostly longitudinal case studies of small non‐compliant firms. The varied responses, endurance of non‐compliance, and blurred and dynamic nature of transitions to compliance are discussed through the lens of institutional approaches to informality. The analysis sheds new light on the relative autonomy of micro processes and the conditions under which external forces affect these processes. Non‐compliant informality, as a persisting feature of small business, is unlikely to be transformed by legal regulation alone.
Bricolage as Survival, Growth and Transformation: The Role of Patch-Working in the Social Agency of Migrant Entrepreneurs
Work, Employment and Society
María Villares-Varela, Monder Ram, Trevor Jones
2018-05-17
This article examines the patch-working strategies of migrant entrepreneurs as a form of social agency. ‘Patch-working’ – the reliance on supplementary forms of income to support business activity – is often seen as a means of cushioning the financial vulnerability of small firms. However, the mechanisms and forms that patch-working takes tend to be overlooked. Evidence from 42 West Midlands’ firms shows that, despite the highly constrained operating environment, the exercise of social agency can help to cushion against disadvantage and to rework their current conditions through patch-working. This allows for business growth, and even transformational growth in some cases, rather than sheer survival. Even so, our findings show that the agency of migrant entrepreneurs brings about only minor improvements in revenue and is certainly not capable of fundamentally changing either the nature of the sector or the structure of the labour market in which they are embedded.
Diversity, economic development and new migrant entrepreneurs
Urban Studies
Trevor Jones, Monder Ram, Maria Villares-Varela
2018-04-30
How do migrant entrepreneurs contribute to economic development? The growing attention to the contribution that migrants make tends to be skewed towards their economic role. Drawing on interviews with 49 new migrant business owners and 60 workers in the West Midlands, UK, we argue that benefits of diversity should be explored beyond the economic dividend. We engage with key theoretical developments in the fields of migrant entrepreneurship and diversity economics, and show that migrant entrepreneurs are characterised by the polarisation of their performance between high fliers and survival entrepreneurs. Despite their overall resource poverty, migrant entrepreneurs on the lower level create employment for their locality, cater to community needs and cushion the social incorporation of new communities in British society. We argue that debates around the benefits of diversity should incorporate not only economic growth, but also its impact on social processes.
Migrant entrepreneurship: taking stock and moving forward
The Dynamics of Entrepreneurial Contexts
Trevor Jones, Monder Ram and María Villares-Varela
2018-02-23
The arrival of Kloosterman and colleagues’ ‘mixed embeddedness’ perspective at the turn of the twenty-first century reinforced the importance of context to the study of ethnic minority entrepreneurship. It countered the primacy of culturalist tropes, and emphasized the political, economic, sectoral and spatial contours of migrant business activity. We present a brief historical reprise, drawing in particular on the experiences of migrant entrepreneurs in the UK. The contribution of mixed embeddedness is important, but scope remains to advance the perspective, particularly by: more comparative research; foregrounding racism; an intersectional stance; and acknowledging the social function of migrant businesses.
Financialisation and small firms: A qualitative analysis of bioscience and film and media firms
International Small Business Journal
Jane Pollard, Paul Richter, Simon Down, Monder Ram
2017-11-27
How, if at all, does financialisation affect small firms that have no direct exposure to capital markets? This article argues the need to address this lacuna empirically, conceptually and politically drawing on research from a qualitative longitudinal analysis of UK small businesses in bio-business and film and media sectors. We identify three potential conduits through which financialising principles and practices may be perceived, translated and resisted for owners, managers and staff. More broadly, the article argues that financial relations should figure more prominently and move from their relatively marginal location into the heart of socio-economic analysis of small firms. As such, the research connects with and extends an important social science tradition of research on managerial control in small firms to include issues of financialisation and financial governance.
