APPG Hosts King's Award for Enterprise Reception with Small Business Minister Gareth Thomas

Gareth Thomas - Under Secretary of State (Minister for Services, Small Businesses and Exports)

On 3rd April 2025 the APPG for Ethnic Minority Business Owners, celebrated the fifth year since it was founded, by hosting an outreach reception for 200 entrepreneurs from across the UK at the House of Commons to raise awareness about the prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise. Small Business Minister Gareth Thomas joined the celebrations and highlighted the importance of the Awards for the profile of the UK's business community both in the UK and around the world.

Ethnic Minority Business Owners Important Contribution

The Minister acknowledged the important £25bn contribution that founders from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds make to the UK's economy each year. He also talked about the Government's commitment to inclusive economic growth and set out plans for key measures aimed at enabling Ethnic Minority business owners to overcome barriers and access more opportunities for business growth

APPG for Ethnic Minority Business Owners Chair Rupa Huq MP and Co-Chair Sarah Olney MP

APPG Chair Rupa Huq MP welcomed Ethnic Minority business owners from across the UK to the event and encouraged them to apply for the King's Enterprise Award. She also emphasised their critical role in sharing information about the Award with their business networks to encourage more applications from underrepresented founders.

APPG Co-chair Sarah Olney MP also encouraged attendees to apply and underlined the importance of this important and prestigious opportunity to mark the achievements of founders from diverse backgrounds.

King's Award for Enterprise

The Awards are the most prestigious that a UK based organisation can receive and is given in recognition of achievements in the fields of Innovation, International Trade, Sustainable Development and Promoting Opportunity (through social mobility).

The APPG hosted the outreach reception in collaboration with the Department of Business and Trade to raise awareness and encourage more applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic business owners.

The team from the King's Awards Office at the Department of Business and Trade presented information about how to apply for the Awards to attendees.

Attendees also heard from previous recipients of the King's Award for Enterprise who joined the APPG's Special Advisor Diana Chrouch OBE. Award recipients Joyce De Haas - Double Dutch, drinks manufacturer; Prof Max Toti -Captec, provider of cutting edge technology solutions received the Award for International Trade and and Purmina Sen - Sparta Global provider of technology and business education to empower young digital professionals received the Award for Promoting Opportunity.