Supporting diversity and inclusion, while powering London’s ethnic minority freelance workforce
Minority Business Matters (MBM), the leading business support project working with London ethnic minority businesses to boost revenues, build resilience, and enhance their reputation, while benefiting local economies and communities across London, has launched a new Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) Freelancer Directory.
The CCI Directory is aiming to support the drive for diversity and inclusion within the Creative and Cultural Industries, offering an easily accessible resource of ethnic minority freelancers. It is free to use for any London-based ethnic minority freelancer as well as those looking to secure CCI freelancers’ services.
Through a simple sign up and certification process, ethnic minority freelancers in the creative industries are now able to offer their professional services through the CCI Directory. Talent seekers have the opportunity to easily access a pool of verified talents through a search, enabling them to quickly find the freelance talent that meets the required business need.
Freelancers who sign up to the CCI Directory will be able to enjoy a number of benefits, including: expand their reach to talent seekers; enhance their visibility to more than 120 private and public sectors organisations; boost procurement expertise, business acumen, and capabilities; gain access to exclusive networking events with potential clients and fellow creatives; build relationships with minority-owned businesses; and join a community creating social value for London.
This initiative is part of the Minority Business Matters programme, a partnership between responsible business charity Heart of the City and MSDUK, an advocacy network that actively supports and promotes supplier diversity for ethnic minority owned businesses.
Nadia Forde, the Minority Business Matters’ programme lead at the Heart of the City, said:
“We are delighted to be launching the CCI Directory, as a simple search tool for ethnic minority talent living and working in London. It enables businesses of all sizes to access this pool of verified talent in an accessible and straightforward way. Our aim is to power London’s ethnic minority freelancer workforce to succeed, and contribute to sustainability and resilience across the wider London economy”.
Jean Chawapiwa, Head of Member Services at MSDUK commented:
“Our aim is to partner to facilitate the creation of a healthier ecosystem in support of ethnic minority businesses and freelance talent. By enabling access to buyers, creatives and users,we are helping to bring solutions to some of the long term challenges that ethnic minority business and freelancer talent face: unconscious bias, discrimination, disconnection from mainstream business networks, and disproportionate lack of access to opportunities. The CCI Directory is a positive step in realising our mission”.
How to join the CCI Directory:
Once the application has been submitted online, MSDUK’s certification officer will verify the entry and the freelancer’s details will be published in the Minority Business Matters CCI Freelancer Directory, ready to be found.
Freelancers must belong to one of many ethnic minority groups living in the UK and be based within one of London’s boroughs.
The Creative and Cultural Industries Freelancer Directory is part of Minority Business Matters, which offers free business support to London’s ethnic minority businesses. Run in partnership with Heart of the City and MSDUK, it is funded by the UK government, through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
