£250,000 of grant funding will be awarded to Black-owned restaurants across the UK as the Uber Eats Black Business Fund is launched for the third year. To date, businesses have received a total of £300,000 of grants since the award scheme started in 2021, with this year’s funding taking the total amount awarded past half a million pounds.
In collaboration with Enterprise Nation, the Uber Eats Black Business Fund will award cash grants to twenty-five small Black-owned businesses with at least half going to small businesses outside of London.
Black-owned restaurants with fewer than five locations can now apply to the Uber Eats Black Business Fund with applications opening on Thursday.
“I started my restaurant almost as a form of activism – there isn’t much diversity in Windsor so during lockdown we decided to change that and bring African and Caribbean cuisine to the high street. We’re a fusion restaurant so we have two signature dishes, Jerk Chicken on the Caribbean side and Egusi on the African side. We used cash from the Black Business Fund to upgrade our equipment and expand our buffet service – we’re really excited for the future and are always thinking about what the next thing could be. I’d definitely recommend other restaurants to apply for the fund.”
Rachel Olatoke, who runs Harvest Afro Caribbean in Windsor is a previous winner of a Black Business Fund grant
According to government data just 6% of small and medium enterprises (SME) are ethnic minority led. And Black business owners face particular barriers with accessing finance, with only three in ten approaching banks for finance – according to Lloyds Bank.
Furthermore, according to the 2023 Inside Hospitality Report – published by Be Inclusive Hospitality – Black hospitality workers are most likely to be on zero-hour contracts compared to other ethnic groups.
In the UK, Uber Eats first launched the Black Business Fund in 2021 awarding ten £5,000 grants to restaurants across the country. Last year it increased its support by five times to a total £250,000 grant pot – significantly scaling the support available for Black-owned businesses.
