Bradford Business Together made a collaborative effort to help Bradford’s business reach their potential on Wednesday, November 1. The Bradford Business Together Initiative was hosted by the University of Bradford’s Norcroft Centre.
Bradford’s history as West Yorkshire’s capital for business success is well-known but research from Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at Aston University suggests there is great opportunity to advance growth potential – for the people who live here and the organisations that call it home.
This ‘Time to Change’ report set out evidence-based recommendations and highlighted the significant growth potential of ethnic minority businesses (EMB’s) to the UK economy if the barriers faced by EMB’s were tackled, the GVA contribution of EMB’s could increase from the current £25 billion a year to £100 billion.
Bradford Business Together is a response to this challenge, over the next year, NatWest, alongside the University of Bradford, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Bradford Council, Business in the Community, West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, British Business Bank, FSB and Yorkshire Asian Business Association will work with finance, business, and policy leaders to make sure voices are heard and amplified and to provide direct support for businesses within the city and district to make Bradford Better.