Has Covid-19 proved Black communities/entrepreneurs need economic empowerment now more than ever?

Watch our Q+A session where we discuss this question with Impact X CEO Eric Collins moderated by Eva Simpson, the award-winning journalist, columnist and founder of public relations company ESPR and led by Yvonne Bajela, Impact X founding member and principal.

Covid-19 is dominating our lives. Black people have already been the hardest hit in terms of health – they are four times more likely to die of the disease according to the Office for National Statistics. The Bank of England has already issued a dire warning that Britain is facing its sharpest recession in history and predicting the economy will shrink by 14%. Research has shown that the effects of recessions aren’t borne evenly. During the recession that followed the 2008 global financial crisis, data prepared for the Department of Business Innovation showed a disparity between how black and white business owners were treated when it came to securing loans and overdrafts. A 2009 report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the impact of the last recession said there was evidence, “Black ethnic groups may be faring particularly badly”.

In this first webinar, we will look at what needs to be done to prevent Black businesses from suffering the same fate and ask whether Black economic empowerment is the only way out of this crisis.