Business Gateway recruits Citizen of Change to support Leicestershire’s black business community

Leicestershire’s Business Gateway has recruited an intern from the University of Leicester to help it support the local black business community more effectively. Omolara (Lara) Anubi (20) is in the second year of her Media, Culture and Society degree at the university and is part of its Citizens of Change programme.   

The Business Gateway, which is the one-stop-shop for support for all businesses across the city and county, aims to ensure that more black business owners take up its services to help them survive during current challenging times and achieve sustainable growth in the future.

Business Gateway Manager, Rachel York, explained: “We felt that black businesses were under-represented among our clients and that our small team didn’t have the knowledge it needed. When we heard about the Citizens of Change programme, we saw it as an excellent opportunity to recruit an intern from the community we are hoping to reach so that they can research the needs of those businesses in an informed way.

“We are very fortunate in that several leading figures from the local black community have agreed to share their knowledge with Lara so that she can give us a full picture of what is needed and how best to provide it in future.”

Intern Lara, who is originally from Oxford, commented: “I’m very happy to be gaining experience in my degree subject area and really looking forward to interviewing some of Leicester’s leading black community figures.  I think it will be a fascinating experience and if my report can help local businesses, that will be brilliant.”