Insider Media Limited

De Montfort University will host the UK’s 14th annual international conference for ethnic minority businesses. The event will take place in Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, and will address key themes such as public-private collaborations to promote diversity, access to finance and access to markets.

The event, which will be held on Thursday 14 October, will focus on the dynamic changes in national enterprise policy and practice. The theme of the day is Making Diversity Everyone’s Business.

It will be hosted by De Montfort’s Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CRÈME).

Delegates will include ethnic minority business owners as well as representatives from business support agencies and intermediaries, employer groups, the corporate sector and local authorities who will hear influencers from the corporate, educational and business support sectors set out how they engage with ethnic minority entrepreneurs in the UK.

Key speakers at the conference include, Dr Richard Roberts, SME market analysis director at Barclays, Simon Leggett, sales and marketing director at The Consortium and David Darlaston, regional director at Business in the Community. De Montfort University’s new vice chancellor, Professor Dominic Shellard, will give a closing address.

Sponsors of the event include Barclays, EMBAN (Ethnic Minority Business Advocacy Network) and Business Link West Midlands.