The Conversation reports that while the UK business start-up scene is the fastest growing in Europe, it is far from diverse, and business accelerators are increasingly being set up to tackle this issue.
Only a quarter of start-up businesses have a female member of their founding team, and it is estimated that just 5 per cent of SMEs are minority ethnic group led. The fact that these, among other groups, are underrepresented is problematic for many reasons. Economically, studies show that diverse founding teams are more innovative and bring better financial results, so increasing diversity would be highly beneficial for all.
Business accelerators – programmes which offer training, mentorship, access to workspaces and investment – are vital for early stage businesses looking to grow. Accelerators will likely play an even bigger role in the post-pandemic world, as businesses try to stay afloat or re-start in an uncertain economy.
Some programmes have been created with the aim of supporting entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups. For example, Hatch’s Female Founders Accelerator is a six-month programme in South London, supporting BAME female-led businesses with backing from major companies such as Natwest.
East London’s TechHub Accelerate programme supports BAME, female, LGBTQI+ and founders with disabilities, giving them access to workspaces, meeting rooms, mentoring sessions and events for up to a year, while The We in Social Tech growth accelerator is a six-month programme for women-led social tech businesses.
Of course, different groups face different barriers to starting a business, but it has been suggested that some challenges, such as access to finance, access to relevant entrepreneurship advice, and a lack of business skills and experience, are common. This is where accelerators come in to provide vital support and resources.
Alongside this, recent academic research has highlighted the important part role models play in inspiring underrepresented groups to launch start-ups.
In order to be truly inclusive, it is important that accelerators are accessible to businesses that are oriented towards the real needs of the communities they are trying to help. This may not always mean the high-tech, high-growth firms which accelerators typically support.
By improving survival rates for start-ups with underrepresented founders, accelerators can help bolster support networks, change perceptions of what it means to be a successful founder, and produce more relatable role models, potentially helping to create more diverse businesses in the longer term.
