Uber Eats launches £250,000 fund to support Black-owned businesses

Uber Eats has launched a £250,000 fund to support Black-owned restaurants across the UK.

The delivery company has partnered with Enterprise Nation and Be Inclusive Hospitality to expand the Black Business Fund, which will award £10,000 grants to 25 Black-owned businesses nationwide.

The fund is five times the value of what was offered last year, when the initiative first launched. In 2021, ten Black-owned businesses received £5,000 each by comparison.

Chloe Bailey-Williams, owner of the Breakhouse Café in London (pictured), and Jess and Jo Edun, owners of the Flygerians in London, were some of the recipients in 2021.

This year, at least half of these grants will be given to businesses based outside of London. Those who are successful will also receive mentoring from Enterprise Nation.

Research demonstrates that Black-owned businesses face many barriers in the hospitality industry.

Only 5% of small or medium-sized businesses are operated by people from minority backgrounds, with Black and mixed ethnicity groups known to be the least likely to be self-employed.

Almost half (43%) of Black business owners believe that their ethnicity has hindered their career progression, the highest percentage to be reported by any ethnic minority group, according to research from Be Inclusive Hospitality.

Data from Resolution Foundation also revealed that hospitality workers from Black, African, Caribbean and Black British backgrounds are least likely to be the highest paid across all age groups.

Black-owned restaurants with fewer than five locations are eligible to apply to the scheme, which seeks to provide greater financial support for these individuals.

Lorraine Copes at Be Inclusive hospitality, said: “The launch of this initiative is really timely. The theme for Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words’, and this fund, and mentorship will help in a very tangible way to remove some of the barriers that Black business owners continue to face, during an extremely difficult trading period.”

Matthew Price, general manager at Uber Eats UK & Ireland, added: "Given the barriers that Black owners face, we are incredibly proud to expand our support of small Black-owned businesses across the country. Through this fund we want to help the next generation of chefs and entrepreneurs thrive.”

Submissions for the Fund open on 14 October and will close on 25 November.