Representatives from food and drink businesses across the West Midlands lent their support recently to a new mentoring scheme launched by Heart Of England fine foods (HEFF) in Birmingham.
The scheme, backed by Advantage West Midlands, will offer director level support to SME ethnic minority food and drink companies, through the matching of experienced mentors.
After an opening address by HEFF chief executive Karen Davies, one of the newly recruited mentors, Wade Lyn, managing director of Cleone Foods Ltd, made an enthusiastic appeal to other Midlands directors to step forward and ‘give something back’ to the region’s business community.
He said: “Mostly it's the everyday routine that stifles a small business and prevents them from moving to the next stage. I already mentor one Birmingham business and have been able to help them save money by using my contacts to bring their business and banking rates down, I’ve shown how swapping amenities suppliers can get them a better deal on power and been able to make suggestions on IT advancements such as integrated accountancy software and website design - things that to me are now familiar and very easy to advise upon.”
Mohammed Nazir, chairman of the West Midlands Minority Ethnic Business Forum, endorses the aims of the scheme: “More and more ethnic businesses are exploring national and international opportunities and the mentoring scheme will enable them to tap into a new source of free, expert consultancy so they can get to where they want to be in less time and with a greater all round understanding of today’s business issues.”
Ethnic food companies operating within the West Midlands are invited to contact Heart Of England Fine Foods for an information pack.
