Black British Initiative celebrates the first swathe of graduates of its MBA 30 program in partnership with Baroness Doreen Lawrence’s Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation and SOAS, University of London at today’s Graduation Ceremony.

Among the recipients is, Patrick Hutchinson – the social justice hero, personal trainer and children’s coach, who received global attention when he carried an injured counter-protestor to safety during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London.

The Black British Initiative, founded by Darren Miller, was thrilled to present the first graduation ceremony of students in its ground-breaking MBA 30 course today, which took up to 30 underserved Black Entrepreneurs per cohort and gave them a practical, valuable and transformative qualification, boosting prospects for commercial success and access to funding. MBA 30 commemorates 30 years since the murder of Stephen Lawrence and positively celebrates his legacy.

To mark the magnitude and historic resonance of the event – which took place at SOAS, University of London, Brunei Building Theatre in Russell Square – Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE issued graduation certificates to each successful entrepreneur, joined by Lord Dr Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE. Also in attendance were Zeinab Badawi, Jess Neil (CEO Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation) and Andrew Harrison (Managing Director NatWest) among others.

The initiative was conceived in partnership with Baroness Doreen Lawrence’s Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation and delivered by SOAS, University of London, to provide transformational education for systemically and structurally underprivileged Black Entrepreneurs nationwide. Through sponsorship, costs are significantly lowered for attendees, removing financial barriers and making it possible to unlock the UK’s deep reservoirs of Black business talent.

Sponsors, including NatWest, Vodafone Business, Paramount Global, Freuds, Retail Trust and Clyde & Co, have agreed to subsidise the overall course fee of £3,250 per student, resulting in a low participant fee of £500.
The 44 graduates in this cohort specialise in such diverse areas as medical, legal, tech, design, fashion, retail, beauty, film, wellness, consultancy & advisory, coaching, PR and sport.

MBA 30 aims to equip new, early stage, and more established Black Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs with an understanding of financial statements, important business principles, strategies, best practice, effective marketing, impactful communications, and how to produce striking presentations, key for closing sales.

MBA 30 Cohort Five commences on 9th September to 3rd October 2024 and is mostly online, starting from midday to 5pm, with the exception being the first and last day, which commence at 9am to 5pm and take place at SOAS, The University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG.