Virus has impact for BAME businesses

BAME-OWNED companies have had to incur ‘considerable costs’ to protect their businesses through lockdown, new research has found.

A pilot study of black, asian and minority ethnic (BAME) business owners across the West Midlands has been conducted by the Staffordshire University-based Staffordshire Business School to investigate the specific challenges they have faced during the covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.

The study – which has been funded by the British Academy – looks at the challenges faced by BAME business owners, the strategies they used to keep their businesses afloat and how they engaged with financial and regional support.

During lockdown, many businesses in the UK were forced to shut up shop while others continued to operate at a reduced capacity and with lower turnover.

So far, the research has found that the crisis facing BAME businesses has been exacerbated by the fact that BAME individuals have experienced higher mortality rates and that Bame-owned businesses usually hire a considerable amount of BAME employees and attract more BAME customers than NON-BAME businesses.

Dr Tolu Olarewaju, of Staffordshire University, said: “In terms of outcomes, we have found that many Bame-owned businesses have struggled, some have sadly shut, others have barely managed to keep trading, and some have even adapted and evolved.

“So far, our pilot study has focused on smallscale Bame-owned retail businesses and we have found that business adaptability and evolution was essential in the few months following lockdown, and businesses that exhibited these characteristics fared better.

“For example, many businesses had to adjust their operations to take account of social distancing, adopt new technology in day-to-day practices, and even venture into new business endeavours.”