Imperial BE
Supporting Black entrepreneurship, promoting Black talent and encouraging greater inclusion through panel events, workshops and masterclasses.
Championing diversity
For founders of Black and mixed-Black heritage, the entrepreneurial journey can be especially challenging, facing multiple disparities such as access to capital.
At Imperial Enterprise Lab, we believe that diversity is a competitive advantage not a tick box, but founders of Black and mixed-Black heritage face multiple barriers and limited support compared to their white counterparts. Extend VC reported that between 2009 and 2019 only 0.24% of venture capital raised in the UK went to Black founders, of which only 0.02% went to Black female founders. While there was a brief uptick in the tech sector, with Black founders receiving around 1.13% of UK tech venture funding in 2021, this progress was not sustained and their share fell back to approximately 0.95% by 2023, underlining that the funding gap remains stark. Additionally, the lack of Black role-models in management and leadership roles is detrimental to encouraging the younger generation to take this path.
Imperial BE is a series of activities for Imperial founders of Black heritage that aims to explore the opportunities available in industry, academia and entrepreneurship. These events introduce role models, develop entrepreneurial skills and create a network across Imperial and beyond.
What’s on
Upcoming Imperial BE events
Imperial Black Excellence: Exploring Entrepreneurship
Event dateMay 7, 2026
An in-person panel and networking event where accomplished Black and Mixed-Black founders share insights from their startup journeys. Sign up
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Previous events
Since its launch in 2022, Imperial BE has run a series of successful events and workshops dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship amongst our Black student community.
Imperial BE Presents:
Stories of Black Entrepreneurs
Tim Campbell MBE gave us his account of winning series one of ‘The Apprentice’, what he went on to do next, and what it takes to become a Black entrepreneur today. The event also included a session on how to get funding.
Imperial BE Presents:
Investing in Black Talent
Angel Investor Andy Davis shared his insights into the opportunities and investment channels for Black Entrepreneurs and Founders. Andy set up 10×10, a community for the UK’s early-stage Black founders and Black VCs, and launched the 10×10 Fund. He is spearheading efforts to make European investing more diverse and inclusive by raising awareness of underrepresentation, and providing financial, strategic, and networking support to Black founders.
We also heard how Imperial supports students to access investment in their start-ups from James Groves – Head of Investment Services at Imperial Enterprise Lab.
Take a Look Inside Imperial BE
Watch the Event Highlights from “Investing in Black Talent”
