F100 Growth Fund – United Kingdom

BEO and Sky’s £1 million partnership continues for 2024, backing Black entrepreneurs to grow and develop their own businesses in the UK. The F100 programme provides investment opportunities to businesses that have a readiness to grow. Funding is contingent upon the success of the demo day pitch, as judged by the panel of experts and investors. Backed up by expert business advice, coaching and mentoring, they are here to break down the significant barriers faced by Black British entrepreneurs when setting up and growing their businesses.

The programme will create a vital and tight-knit cohort of Black British entrepreneurs, with valuable, regular opportunities to network and share experiences, successes and challenges. This flagship programme’s focus on economic empowerment and equity of opportunity will reduce inequality and enable ambitious Black entrepreneurs to thrive and succeed.

F100 – Key Goals

• Increased and improved access to finance: More Black founders confidently scaling and diversifying their businesses.
• Business growth: More jobs created, more Black businesses succeeding.
• Female founders boost: Equity and better representation of Black female founders, reflected in an increase in women entrepreneurs participating and accessing finance through F100 or from other investors.
• Policy changes and wider systemic impact: Codification of F100 leading to more, similar programmes and partnerships with corporates, and ultimately wider policy and systemic changes in the UK entrepreneurship landscape.

If you are successful in your application, this is what you’ll get in return

• The opportunity to pitch for up to £15,000 in funding, to a panel made up of business experts and partners at the end of the programme
• 12-months free Sky Business broadband and phone package for the most innovative business
• Access for Black entrepreneurs to supply chains, connections and insights from a global business. Sky is actively diversifying its supply chains to create greater opportunities for Black businesses
• A tailored 12-week programme of workshops focused on pitch skills and practice, building mental resilience, software development, international trade, hiring good people and team development and fit to supply chain workshops delivered by Sky executives and other market-leading experts
• Get to work with a network of mentors and community organisations to advise and assist new enterprises
• Support from Black founders and entrepreneurs with relevant knowledge and skills, as well as opportunities to meet prospective partners and funders
• Opportunities to pitch your business to investors and VCs and procurement teams
• BEO Community events for peer-to-peer networking with other Black founders

Application Criteria

• For businesses
  • So that you can benefit from this fantastic opportunity, they are interested in hearing from businesses and start-ups who are the right stage to maximise this programme. Your business will need to:
    • Be a UK-registered company.
    • Be a B2B or B2C business.
    • Have a website and/or social media profile.
    • Demonstrates a willingness to leverage technology.
    • Ready to scale – you have already received some investment (from family, friends, or other sources)
    • Launched your MVP (minimum viable product), which is:
    • Generating a minimum of £5000 in revenue (annual)
    • Must have at least two pilot testing companies and
    • Have raised at least £1,000 in funding.
• For founders
  • As a founder, you will need to:
    • Be over 18 and a UK resident. They are particularly interested in supporting female Black founders.
    • Be of Black African, Black Caribbean, Black British, and/or Mixed-race descent (at least one founder of a business must be of Black ethnic descent).
    • Own at least 51% of the company and have a sector-specific business and industry knowledge.
    • Be able to commit to a 12-week hybrid programme of strategy workshops, insight day events, networking evenings, and other events.

For more information, visit Black Equity Organisation (BEO).