The Ubele Initiative has been shortlisted in the UK Social Enterprise Award, recognising it as one of the leading social enterprises in the country.
The UK Social Enterprise Awards run by Social Enterprise UK, the national membership body for social enterprises, recognise the nation’s most pioneering social enterprises. The prestigious awards ceremony will be held at London’s iconic Guildhall on 8 December.
This year the Awards featured two new categories one recognising a Social Enterprise Building Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Justice and the other for the Social Enterprise Team of the Year – a category specifically acknowledging those teams which have demonstrated the strength, passion and resilience so characteristic of the social enterprise sector over an extremely challenging year.
Previous winners have included a company set up to tackle furniture poverty, an IT consultancy employing people with autism and a community energy co-operative – demonstrating just how diverse the social enterprise sector is.
Yvonne Field, Founder and CEO at The Ubele Initiative said:
“We are delighted to be shortlisted for the UK Social Enterprise Awards in the Social Enterprise Building Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Justice category.
The Ubele Initiative started seven years ago as a community-led intervention. Since then, we have worked intentionally and collaboratively to give voice and support to the needs and concerns of Black and Minoritised communities across the country. 2020 and 2021 have been particularly challenging due to the impact of Covid-19. We are humbled to have been able to provide a range of supportive interventions to Black and Minoritised communities across England.
At the Ubele, we want to continue to be courageous to have uncomfortable conversations, remain explicit about institutional racism and keep centring those at the heart of anti-racist movements across the world; honouring people advocating for their lives through Black Lives Matter.”
Commenting on the Awards, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK Peter Holbrook said:
“The UK Social Enterprise Awards are back, bigger and better than ever before. We have had a record number of applications this year, all of which have showcased the strength, dynamism and resilience of the social enterprise community through what’s been an incredibly difficult and uncertain period.
Over the course of the pandemic social enterprises have been going above and beyond the call of duty to support their teams, the individuals, and communities they work with, showing the grit, determination and innovation so inherent to this sector. They’ve been operating directly on the frontline of the crisis, launching new products and pivoting their business models to meet the needs of communities and society as a whole.
The Awards are all about celebrating the achievements of the UK’s social enterprise movement, which is showing us that another way of doing business is possible - one which has never been more important as we look to build back better and address the climate emergency.”
