Important update 

A better BI360

The vision for Black Investor 360 has always been to make finance & investment more accessible & inclusive for our community, particularly Black business owners and entrepreneurs. Inspired by the recent release of the Black. British. In Business & Proud (BBIBP) report and our Black Business Network (BBN) rebrand we now have a clearer direction and stronger understanding of what our attendees want to experience and learn at our BI360 event, and we intend to deliver that. 

 

We are determined to deliver an event experience that reflects our core goals of: making Business investment more accessible, the practice of growing your network second nature and increasing understanding of Personal Finance. The aim is to achieve this in a safe and inclusive space as a collective; creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem between our attendees, investors, sponsors and event partners. To deliver this level of show it is necessary to postpone our event date to April 2022. We are not taking postponing lightly and it has been a hard decision to make, we have all put in so much preparation into BI360 already, but we feel delivering the right event experience for all involved and attending has and always will be our focus.

 

There are three main factors that have helped shape this decision: Strong findings from the BBIBP Report, the added value available to BI360 attendees from the upcoming launch of the Black Business Network (BBN) online platform and the necessity to set ourselves apart and to make this the only event of it’s kind and the first choice for our audience.

 

Findings from the report

Our Black. British. In Business & Proud report revealed concerns regarding funding and other support needs as business owners shared their frustrations about not knowing how and where to access information that could support their business growth and 52% are not confident applying for finance, this is where Black Investor 360 aims to fill the knowledge gap. 

 

With most stating in the Black. British. In Business & Proud (BBIBP) report that their businesses’ are self-funded, some business owners talked about building up their credit rating over years to self-fund their start-ups. Other entrepreneurs had used credit card finance, nearly 1 in 4 (23%) of Black business owners need financial skills & cash flow management, whilst 1 in 5 (19%) stated that they needed help understanding funding streams and eligibility criteria. This tells us that there is a barrier to growth and the challenge is to identify how to dismantle it. Black businesses want to thrive, but clear signposting for where and how to access that support, with reassurance about the experts they will encounter. Again, this gives us a clear outline of what value and information attendees are looking for that we can incorporate into our BI360 event and the type exhibitors our attendees want to see.

 

Value given through BBN

We’re excited for the launch of the new Black Business Network (BBN) online platform that will be unveiled on 13th November 2021. The platform will bring the Black business community closer together and provide relevant support and resources to ensure growth through our new membership and service hub. This will increase the overall experience of our Black Business Network (BBN) members at  BI360 events and provide a safe space for the Black entrepreneurial community to debrief and grow online post event.