Black tech entrepreneurs struggle to find funding in Britain. Now they’re looking abroad | CNN BUSINESS

CNN BUSINESS | Black tech entrepreneurs struggle to find funding in Britain. Now they’re looking abroad

Left to right: Rich Serunjogi, founder of Business Score; Izzy Obeng, managing director of Foundervine in London, UK; and Benedict Odoom, founder of Kilomo IOT, Glasgow, UK.

London (CNN Business) – Black tech entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom say they have to rely on foreign investors to get their businesses off the ground.

More than a year after the Black Lives Matter protests prompted the UK government to investigate discrimination against Black business owners, British venture capital firms continue to neglect Black and ethnic minority founders despite a booming startup scene.

“It is clear that the UK is not the place to try and get funding for your startup,” says Rich Serunjogi, founder of Business Score, which matches e-commerce companies with working capital financing. “Only the very best [UK] VCs are interested. The second-tier funds tend to ignore Black founders and give excuses such as the business’ market size not being big enough or the idea being ‘too niche’.”  –read more

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