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'We want Brixton to be a black Silicon Valley' - sh.itjust.works
sh.itjust.worksBlack Seed is aiming to invest in 30 black-led start ups in the next three years
By Yasmin Rufo BBC News In the heart of Brixton Village sit three young black
entrepreneurs with a vision: to turn their home into a black Silicon Valley.
Born and bred in south London, Karl, Cyril and Yvonne are the founders of Black
Seed, which claims to be the first venture capital firm in Europe that only
invests in and supports black-owned businesses. “You are more likely to contract
skin cancer than receive funding for your business as a black founder in the
UK,” Yvonne tells me when I meet the trio at their Brixton office. And it was
this powerful statistic, along with the murder of George Floyd in 2020, that
spurred these entrepreneurs into wanting to make a change. The founders of Black
Seed say they created the company as a “response” to the lack of funding for
black entrepreneurs Having raised over £5m since the firm began in 2021, Black
Seed plans to start investing in 30 black-led start-ups by 2026. “Our vision is
to make Brixton the home of black tech, we want to be the bridge between the
City and the black founder community,” say the three entrepreneurs. But it has
not been an easy journey for the founders to get to where they are today. I meet
co-founder Karl Lokko, 33, at the estate he grew up on when he was younger.
“When I was 12 years old I witnessed someone being shot for the first time and
as a result I ended up getting heavily involved in gangs and subscribed to that
way of living,” he explains. Karl says he was “fortunate” to get out of gang
culture at the age of 18 Karl managed to turn his life around and “from the age
of 18 I began denouncing gangsterism and I was fortunate to get out”. He was
keen to give back to his community and began working as a consultant to local
government and special adviser to Prince Harry. It wasn’t until he met his now
co-founder Cyril Lutterodt, 29, that he realised he could help black
entrepreneurs on a larger scale. “Cyril really brought to life the reality of
what it is like for a black entrepreneur in the UK trying to raise money for
their company,” he says. Karl got to know Cyril while the 29-year-old was trying
to find investors for his own tech business. Cyril had pitched to over 100
investors and was unable to secure any funding. Cyril pitched his start-up to
hundreds of investors and was unable to secure funding Having faced so many
rejections, he tells me how difficult it was to find funding. “I had to deal
with a lot of no’s and eventually I realised I was not the only black
entrepreneur finding it hard to grow my business,” he says. “The founders we
work with now need three things: capital, connections and access. We work to
provide all of those things.” Talking to the founders, it’s clear that the scope
of Black Seed goes far beyond just investing in companies - it’s about community
too. “There are certain challenges that black entrepreneurs face that their
peers don’t. We speak to many start-up founders who have no mentor or network of
support,” says Yvonne Nagawa. Yvonne says she joined Black Seed because she
“wanted to make a difference” The 30-year-old left her full time job in finance
a few years ago to work with Black Seed full time. “I was tired of angrily
protesting and I wanted to make a difference,” she explains. “I feel super
privileged to set up a fund in the heart of Brixton and give back to the
community that essentially raised me.” Up to now Black Seed has been hosting
regular community events, from fireside panels with successful entrepreneurs to
networking dinners. The trio plan to continue these in addition to making
investments. “We’ve worked with around 2,500 to 3,000 companies so far,
providing them with anything from mentoring, to networking opportunities, to
investment,” Yvonne says. One of the companies that caught the eye of Black Seed
is a mother and daughter duo who run an online fashion and wellness brand.
Mother and daughter duo run a tech company together Image caption, Caliya and
Rose are hoping to get funding from Black Seed for their tech company Caliya and
Rose Sterling from Ealing, west London, set up The Pro Box seven years ago and
have been receiving support from the entrepreneurs. Rose says Black Seed has
"helped us expand our network and we’ve been able to meet up with other
entrepreneurs to share ideas. "They have validated who we are as founders and
allowed us to build more conviction around our proposition. “It’s super
challenging to get funding for your business in the UK and being connected to
Black Seed has opened so many doors for us.”
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