Black History Month: Black Led Business Forum

Black History Month special Lewisham BIPC black led business forum

Date: Friday 3 October 2025

Time: 2-6pm

Location: The Library at Deptford Lounge, London, SE8 4RJ

Come join us for a special Black History Month event at the Lewisham BIPC black led business forum! Connect with fellow entrepreneurs, share experiences, and learn from successful black business leaders. This in-person event will be held at The Library at Deptford Lounge. Don't miss this opportunity to network and grow your business!

Speakers include business coach and BIPC Lewisham favourite Bayo Igoh and special guest strategic business support manager Loretta Awuah, who joins us from our sister BIPC in Bromley.

Agenda

• 2pm - Welcome and Lewisham business update
• 2:10pm - Smarter Systems, Stronger Futures: AI for Black-Led businesses
• 3pm - Round table conversation on issues effecting black businesses and solutions
• 4pm - Black Entrepreneurship across Africa and Diaspora workshop
• 5pm - Q&A
• 5:30pm - Networking

Smarter Systems, Stronger Futures: AI for Black-Led Businesses

Running a business can be overwhelming, but AI offers practical ways to reduce stress and build efficiency. This workshop led by BigOh Coaching shows black entrepreneurs how to use AI as a system for growth — turning complexity into clarity and strengthening business futures.

Black Entrepreneurship Across Africa and the Diaspora

In this interactive workshop, Loretta Awuah will explore the earliest examples of commerce and raising finance in Africa and the diaspora, as well as showcase black entrepreneurs in Africa, the Caribbean, North and South America and the U.K that have achieved significant success. The presentation will also look at the current state of affairs concerning black business owners in the U.K e.g. challenges and experiences through recent published reports, present support for entrepreneurs locally and nationally, and as well how our historical practices of group economics can support present day entrepreneurs.

To gain full access to all of the resources on offer at BIPC Lewisham, sign up for a free Lewisham Libraries card at https://libraries.lewisham.gov.uk/user/register

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