Innervision and BlaST have received support from the Pathway Fund to work with Kindred to raise a minimum of £10m investment for Black-led socially-trading organisations.
BlaST has been holding a series of ongoing money conversations with Black-led STOs. April’s Reverse Pitch event also listened to BlaST members share their experiences, insights and needs around accessing investment.
BlaST hosted the Pathway Fund on 18 June as part of its wider UK regional engagement programme, communicating the development of its five-year strategy to support racially diverse (STOs) through more accessible and accountable investment.
To help the Pathway Fund better understand how it can continue to catalyse Black-led STOs, BlaST members shared bold plans, from land ownership and enterprise expansion to national scaling and identified shared challenges, strategic needs and their ambitions for growth.
BlaST members provided direct input to Pathway’s leadership on what racially just investment should look like in practice. Topics included inclusive decision-making, tailored post-investment support and removing structural barriers that prevent Black-led organisations from accessing capital.
The Pathway Fund also met with BlaST stakeholders such as regional funders, community enablers and public sector partners to explore how the Liverpool City Region can lead in building inclusive investment infrastructure that centres equity and local leadership.
Alongside lived experiences from Black-led STOs, BlaST shared a number of insights with Pathway Fund:
- Only 6% of £16.35m in follow-on investment went to Black-led STOs via mainstream routes
- 31% of Kindred and BlaST investments went to Black-led STOs because the decision-makers are representative of lived experience
- Many STOs still fear drawing down investment
These insights reflect the need for strong ecosystem and support structures: “Hearing from the Pathway Fund team and being surrounded by fellow BlaST-backed social traders gave me both hope and clarity,” shared BlaST member and Innervision programme participant Michelle King, the founder of Active Minds Day Centre and Social Club. “There’s something very powerful about being seen, not just for the work we do, but for the reasons we do it. BlaST’s investment has already had a profound impact. It gave us the courage and capacity to expand and, importantly, a sense of belonging in a wider ecosystem that understands the challenges of ethnically diverse social entrepreneurs.”
“I’m in awe of the partnership between Innervision, Kindred LCR and BlaST,” says Pathway Fund Chief Executive, Asher Craig. “The alignment of values, the clarity of purpose and the boldness of your collective vision is deeply inspiring. What we witnessed was a powerful example of what is possible when mainstream and Black-led organisations come together with intent and integrity. Thank you for leading in a way that genuinely uplifts everyone around you. We don’t need more performative allyship. We need structural change. And Liverpool is showing what that can look like.”
Joanne Anderson, BlaST director, says: “The stories shared by our STOs demonstrate the reasons why we have built BlaST differently. And that’s why we welcome Pathway Fund’s commitment to co-design regional investment with BlaST, support devolved funds for Black-led enterprise and back BlaST to work with Kindred to raise funds for Black-led STOs. Liverpool’s ecosystem is rooted intrust, power-sharing and action. We don’t compete – we build together.”