Editor’ s Letter engage | uk magazine
UPFRONT 7
Editor’ s Letter engage | uk magazine
Studio F11, Waterfront Studios, 1 Dock Road, London E16 1AH www. engagemagazine. co. uk Magazine subscription 0207 476 6644
Managing Editor Gloria Wyse gloria @ engagemagazine. co. uk
Business Editor Colette Machado colette @ engagemagazine. co. uk
Journalist Joy White joy _ white @ engagemagazine. co. uk
Researcher / Journalist Nikki Costa nikki @ engagemagazine. co. uk
Communications Julie Cordice julie @ engagemagazine. co. uk
Production / Design Assistant James Fraser Senior Designer Ben Shelbourne
In – House Photographer Hannah Edy / Andre Laing Web Developer Kat Wojcik
Advertising / Sponsorship 0207 476 6644 craig @ engagemagazine. co. uk
Switchboard 020 7 476 6644
Publisher Craig Cordice craig @ engagemagazine. co. uk
Printed in the UK by The Yellow Printing Company
Contributions Cover Photography Artseens- Joe Okwesa
Dr Kemal Ahson, CIDA, Anne Marie Dixon-Barrow, Business Link, Chatsworth Consultancy, Nikki Costa, Stephen D’ Souza,
Caroline Lashley, Shaminder Flora PwC, Merrill Lynch, MSDUK, Valerie Lothian, Colette Machado, Marsha John, PERA, JPMorgan,
Joy White, Gloria Wyse, Paulette West, Nick Hart, Prevista, Fatima Mangerah Press Ahead.
Engage magazine always welcomes new ideas for articles. You can send your articles with your contact details to Engage Magazine,
Studio F11, Waterfront Studios, 1 Dock Road, London E16 1AH. Alternatively you can email gloria @ engagemagazine. co. uk
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Editor’ s Letter
Black History Month is upon us, giving another opportunity to showcase the progress and contributions that Black and minorityethnic people have made to the UK socio-economic landscape. BAME enterprises would like to contribute even more. A real opportunity for business growth would be securing contracts from the elusive private sector, who, admittedly are very good at delivering sound business advice, but still reluctant to spend from the‘ private purse.’
What is it that they don’ t see? Let me be more specific. The leaders of many of our large private sector organisations clearly see, and buy-into, the concept of supplier diversity which can increase the economic sustainability of our economy by broadening and strengthening our economic base.
They may even realise that this can be most quickly done by working with ethnic-minority businesses who have formerly been excluded, as they will get the most gain from under-utilised groups. However, the vision is not filtering down to operational staff – the procurement officers. The deals are not happening, be they big or small. Please someone prove me wrong?
Engage remains dedicated to raising awareness of procurement opportunities that will assist BAME and other minority-led businesses to thrive and grow. Our networking events are there to support small BAME enterprises and lobby larger organisations for change.
This column would not be complete without thanking those progressive organisations who have supported us through advertising, sponsorship, and use of venues. PricewaterhouseCoopers, Merrill Lynch, EDF Energy, Lehman Brothers and LloydsTSB
We look forward to receiving your comments and contributions.
© engage magazine was first published in May 2006 and incorporates business diversity and helps to support entrepreneurship and business growth. Engage magazine is produced and published by
Engage Uk Networks. All rights reserved. This publication( or any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format or any other format in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publishers. Engage magazine accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.
| uk engage Networks
Gloria Wyse
Managing Editor.
ISSUE FIVE 2007 engage | uk