Business News President’s Focus
Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce president Joel Blake OBE says that now is the time for more inclusive financial support. Following the devastating impact of the pandemic and political unrest, Joel, also founder of GFA Exchange, explains what needs to be done to provide fair and equitable business support for all.
Greater Birmingham
Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce
Time for more inclusive financial support: Joel Blake
Black Lives Matter movement and political unrest over the last 12 months, has disrupted us all in ways that we were just not prepared for, personally and professionally. We have all had to make pivotal decisions to
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survive. As a fintech business, we decided to launch in the middle of the first lockdown with a niche focus of providing unique intelligence on growing businesses, when at the same time, the financial industry itself was in turmoil. We are grateful that we made the right decision.
But our experiences reinforced the importance of inclusive business support. It is essential for business support organisations to invest the time and resources to understand the specific cultural, operational, strategic, and financial needs of a business in these troubling times. I am proud that inclusive business support sits
at the heart of the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce, from our committee members right through to our membership. I also support the #BackOurBusiness campaign, led by the wider Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.
12 CHAMBERLINK March 2021
earning how to manage disruption is a crucial skill to help you grow your own business. But the impact of the pandemic,
From a financial perspective, a key part of the campaign is focused on more support for businesses who have taken on coronavirus funding support to tackle immediate business issues. It is heart-breaking to know that many have done so believing that things would get better, but now must contend with forthcoming debt repayments, at time when the UK economy is still in a state of crisis.
‘Together, we must all create a new world of business growth support’
Recent interventions made through the
government’s Pay as you Grow Scheme have been welcomed. Yet businesses still have a huge canyon to cross, before they can benefit from their recovery plans and potential demand for their products and services. Let us not forget that there is still a lack of equitable access to finance for many groups - from black and ethnic minority, and female business owners, to the current impact on the hospitality and events sectors. The imbalance in
growth opportunity is not congruent with the ideology of Covid-19 recovery. The time for more inclusive financial support
is now. I believe that all financial services must
embrace a more inclusive approach of access to finance through a combination of data, diversity and delivery. I call this the Triple D Effect. Leveraging data to understand the actual
performance of a business compared to others, gives financiers much deeper insight into the diverse needs of the businesses they are supporting. This can help to deliver more financial support, to the right type of business, at the right time. As businesses seek personalised support to
get back to growth, financial services must embrace new models of providing access to finance, so the industry itself can be more innovative and responsive to ever-increasingly complex needs. Together, we must all create a new world of
business growth support, based upon a foundation of fairness, equity, and inclusive growth opportunities for all.
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