Black South West Network

Black South West Network

Project: Social Investment Connect
Grant: £59,900 

Black South West Network (BSWN) is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee registered in 2008. Based in Bristol, it exists to support and promote BAME not for profit organisations across the whole of the South West. It leads on race equality research, acting as the policy voice and brokering relationships with statutory and private organisations with members and non-members. It is the last remaining BAME regional infrastructure organisation.

The project will provide BAME VCSEs across the South West with information and support on social investment; identify investment ready organisations and link these enterprises to funders. BSWN will carry out research to map the South West BAME social enterprise sector, working with School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE Dartington Hall), which was a partner in the equality impact investing work funded by the Connect Fund. This will identify the particular barriers BAME organisations face and will provide information and guidance to funders to improve their funding to BAME social enterprises.

BSWN will undertake a diagnostic process to identify organisations that are investment ready and broker social enterprise mentors to work with them. The project expects to see a step change in BAME social enterprises being interested in social finance, more being investment ready and successful.