Here are a range of profiles featuring Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students, graduates and staff from Queen Mary.
Maame Afua Nikabs is the CEO and Founder of LingLab Consult, a business that focuses on unlocking human potential through science-backed, immersive experiences that foster diversity, inclusion, mental fitness, and community. We asked her a few questions about her experience as a Black woman running a business.
Can you share one life lesson you’ve learned that influenced who you are today?
My mother taught me to never judge a book by its cover. Look beyond the obvious and don’t evaluate others by their looks.
What was the most challenging time in your business journey and what lessons did you learn from that experience?
After receiving endorsements for my first two business ideas, I hit a roadblock when my most recent concept was refused. While this initially felt like a major setback after previous successes, it lit a fire within me to think bigger. I realised that innovation requires perseverance and an appetite for unconventional thinking.
This recent refusal has motivated me to explore bolder, more disruptive ideas that challenge the status quo. I’m eager to transform this obstacle into an opportunity to uncover new possibilities for driving meaningful change. Though the path forward may be met with scepticism, I’m leveraging this experience to expand my perspective.
My goal now is to use this as fuel to imagine what’s possible by combining visionary concepts with cutting-edge technology and collaboration. I’m letting go of past achievements to embrace a growth mindset as I enter the next phase of innovation and entrepreneurship. With an insatiable curiosity, I’m confident my most ground-breaking ideas are still ahead of me.
What achievement are you most proud of in terms of your business?
The professional accomplishment I’m most proud of is expanding my business pipeline beyond my typical clientele to include public and private procurement opportunities. This expansion opened my eyes to the needs of larger organisations that I previously didn’t know how to reach. By taking steps to compete for government and corporate contracts, I realised how my skills in innovation, change management, and talent development could make an impact on an expanded scale. Pursuing these opportunities has shown me how to create solutions that empower employees to thrive in fast-evolving workplaces. Expanding my pipeline has aligned my purpose as an entrepreneur with my passion for unlocking human potential.
Do you have any advice or tips for future entrepreneurs?
Name a Black woman who you find inspiring and why (can be either historical or present day)
Dr. Nkechi Dike exemplifies inspirational leadership through her trailblazing accomplishments as a physician, educator, entrepreneur and changemaker. As an emergency doctor and lecturer, she saves lives while shaping future clinicians. Her coaching and consulting organisation empowers professionals to maximize their potential. Dr. Dike is a catalyst for ideas and action, incubated start-ups and spearheaded initiatives that have impacted thousands worldwide. Her ability to translate vision into strategic execution is unmatched. A sought-after speaker on international stages, Dr. Dike inspires audiences with her wisdom and actionable insights. But beyond impressive achievements, her empathetic spirit and commitment to elevating others define her leadership. Dr. Dike lives her purpose through uplifting individuals, transforming systems, and making a global impact. She represents the power within all of us to positively change lives and communities when we walk in our truths.
You can follow Maame’s journey on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Elizabeth Ojo is the founder of Coco Chin, a business focused on delivering high quality plant-based snack foods that use nutritious ingredients from West Africa. We asked her a few questions about her experience as a Black women running her own business.
Can you share one life lesson you learned from your mother that influenced who you are today?
Always try your best. Regardless of the outcome, you will know you put maximum effort in – which makes you less likely to have any regrets.
The most challenging time in my business has been funding. Trying to raise money to fund your business operations and product development can be difficult. However, I have learnt that there are so many options available for entrepreneurs from grants, crowdfunding to pitching to angel investors. I have had to explore multiple options and it can be difficult as applications can be time consuming but the experience is invaluable and forces you to refine your business plan.
So far, it has been making my first sale after I relaunched with a new product. I wasn’t sure if people would be receptive to it but my salad toppers have been getting positive feedback from customers.
Don’t be afraid to pivot. You may have a plan of how you expect your journey to go however things don’t always go to plan so you have to be agile enough to change as new opportunities and information is presented.
A black female entrepreneur that inspires me is Pinky Cole. She is a restauranteur that specialises in plant-based food. She has been able to use innovative marketing strategies to grow her empire from a single food truck to multiple store locations and products sold in major retailers.
Jaye Berkye is the founder of African Chica, a business focused on inspiring African culture through outerwear. They provide clothing with meaning, with the use of adinkra symbols & kente cloth. We asked her a few questions about her experience as a Black woman running a business.
Can you share one life lessons you learned from your mother that influenced who you are today?
Stay true to yourself, no-one can do things like you do.
Started my business during the height of Covid. The world was a strange place and there were so many restrictions in place, I would not produce goods. I learnt that building brand awareness at the darkest times will pay dividends in the end.
I have been approached by a number of celebrities to style and provide items. One of my pieces was worn by a winner of the BAFTA’s last year
No idea is a silly idea, try it out regardless of what people might say to you.
Michelle Obama – Intelligence, grace and all about being proud of being a black woman, in a society that can make it challenging to be so.
Kelsey Morgan is the Founder of Lawful Creators, an organisation dedicated to turning ideas into business assets using knowledge of intellectual property. We asked her a few questions about her experience as a Black woman running a business.
She told me to always be myself and never dim my light for anyone
I am still in the early stages so I do not have the clientele that I was hoping for YET. But I have learnt to persevere with networking and finding other opportunities to work with people.
I recently was on the main stage at Black Tech Fest which was a huge achievement for me to showcase my business to such a large audience.
Do not feel that you need to spend loads of money, especially in the beginning. Get a basic website, use a gmail account, Canva is free and just share your business with everyone you meet. Once you earn money you can start spending it to propel your business further.
Name a Black woman who you find inspiring and why?
For me it’s Arlan Hamilton, she’s an entrepreneur who made it her mission to invest in 100 companies for underrepresented founders. She is someone who taught me that if you want something you have to go for it even when people say no.