Opportunities ripe for black businesses in the public sector Monday, August 15, 2005 6609 Reads Discuss Feedback Print Send

Deborah Gabriel

Government investment is creating more opportunities in public sector The mistake we make sometimes is that we think we can only create employment through profit-making enterprises, but there are social enterprise initiatives which qualify for public funding Sunny Lambe, Publisher of Ethno News Sunny Lambe has extensive experience in the public sector and has recently become the publisher of Ethno News, a bi-monthly magazine which promotes BME businesses and the local community as a whole. It is part of the Black Business Initiative (BBI), a black enterprise agency which was established by members of the black community in 2001. Its main objective is to give black business people a voice, both in the London borough of Southwark and elsewhere. Sunny Lambe told Black Enterprise that Chancellor Gordon Brown’s objectives for the next few years makes it clear that the public sector will be one of the main areas where opportunities will be created through the government. He said: “A lot of money has been set aside in order to promote some of these initiatives that will ensure that the public sector becomes one of the key drivers of economic development.” vbclrfHowever, to take advantage of these opportunities black entrepreneurs need to think outside the box and look beyond retail enterprises: “A lot of money has been pumped into youth provision, for example, in terms of after school clubs, services that deal with the educational attainment of black pupils and health issues .” Mr Lambe referred to the Peckham Supplementary School (PSS), which runs Tai-Chi classes, which is a recognised way of combating obesity in the community. As an independent voluntary group, PSS operates in partnership with the local authority. It receives funding both from the government and some outside agencies. Mr Lambe said: “The mistake we make sometimes is that we think we can only create employment through profit-making enterprises, but there are social enterprise initiatives which qualify for public funding.”

Black businesses must embrace the concept of good customer service Whether you are running a profit-making business or a not-for profit business, it doesn’t make any difference, a customer is a customer Sunny Lambe, Publisher of Ethno News “Whether you are running a profit-making business or a not-for profit business, it doesn’t make any difference, a customer is a customer. But one thing I find about our community is that the customer-centred approach has not been grasped yet”, Mr Lambe told Black Enterprise. He said that there are many training courses available in this area run by voluntary organisations and government agencies, but: “The issue is really whether we accept and admit that this is a problem. Once there is admission that there is a problem we can start looking for the solutions.” Mr Lambe warned that the principles of good customer service must be incorporated into the day-to-day activities of black businesses in order to meet the requirements for public sector contracts. There are ways in which black businesses can have better access to government contracts, he told Black Enterprise. The Southwark Ethnic Business Association (SEBA) have had discussions with the local Council to see if contracts can be broken down to enable those at £50k and less to be accessible to black businesses in the community. “From all the dialogues we have been having with the government and local authorities they have been taking some positive steps and we hope that will continue”, said Mr Lambe.

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