New initiative supports growth of diverse business founders

The Open University has partnered with social innovation and venture business, Tin Ventures, to create a new programme that supports diverse business founders across the West Midlands. The collaboration has been designed to equip entrepreneurs with the skills and connections to grow their businesses. 

Many diverse founders in the UK continue to face systemic barriers to validating ideas, accessing capital, and scaling businesses. This gap stifles innovation, limits economic opportunity, and prevents communities from realising their full potential. 

The Inclusive Innovation Catalyst is designed to overcome these barriers and build investible and net positive businesses with overlooked talent. Other partners include the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Black Business Collective, and Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands. 

The Catalyst is the output of a series of National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NPCCE) Catalyst Conversations, which explored the role of civic universities as key partners in driving inclusive community innovation and enterprise. These conversations highlighted how universities, local organisations, and business networks can collectively to overcome systemic barriers to growth for diverse founders.

Dr Andrew Gilbert, Associate Dean, The Open University Business School, said: 

Collaborating with the Black Business Collective and TIN Ventures to support the Inclusive Innovation Catalyst aligns perfectly with our Open Business Creators vision and ambition allowing us to provide pragmatic, bespoke support for talented business leaders who are too often excluded from mainstream investor ecosystems. We’re proud to co-deliver a programme that equips founders with the entrepreneurial learning, operational management skills, and leadership connections to grow their personal and business capacity at their own pace and level.”

Alex Cole, CEO, TIN Ventures and Chair of the GBCC – Black Business Collective, added: 

The Inclusive Innovation Catalyst comes at a pivotal moment. Too much entrepreneurial talent is still overlooked. By embedding inclusive venture-building in community hubs across the Midlands, we’re turning untapped potential into investible, net positive businesses aligned with the UK’s Industrial Strategy and West Midlands Growth Plan.”

The Community Innovation Hub Birmingham, hosted at the Legacy Centre of Excellence, will act as a trusted gateway for grassroots founders, connecting them into national and global networks.