Brixton’s Black Farmer shop is to receive a quarter of a million pound investment from a fund for entrepreneurs from under-represented groups.
Created by the team behind the Big Issue magazine sold by homeless people, Big Issue Invest and the UnLtd Growth Impact Fund will champion owner Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones’ “urban farm shop” venture which he plans to expand as a national brand.
The investors said that only 1% of UK farmers come from a Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic background.
Emmanuel-Jones founded The Black Farmer to challenge this exclusion and show that Black entrepreneurs can succeed in markets that have traditionally excluded them, they said.
The Black Farmer’s farm shops will also sell products made by under-represented entrepreneurs and other more traditional suppliers.
Emmanuel-Jones, who was awarded an MBE in 2020 for his services to British farming, said: “If you are Black, racialised or from a deprived background, your chances of getting into the food, farming or retail industry are extraordinarily slim.
“But – odd as it may seem – at the age of 11, and as a dyslexic child brought up in inner-city poverty after arriving from Jamaica, I made it my life’s dream to own an English farm.”
He says he chose to open his first shop in Brixton’s Market Row last year in part because he is a member of the Windrush Generation.
The Brixton shop also provides business and marketing advice, brand development, and workshops to help under-served individuals break into retail supply, addressing the significant inequities they face.
It serves as a supportive hub, offering talks, workshops, and wellbeing classes for local people.
It also employs individuals who might struggle to find conventional employment, further fostering inclusion and empowerment.
“Our investment in The Black Farmer represents our first brick-and-mortar investment as a fund,” said Trishna Nath, head of investment at UnLtd.
“We’re thrilled by the prospect of supporting social entrepreneurs like Wilfred to scale their business and help strengthen the community spirit in an area like Brixton.”
Social enterprises interested in the Growth Impact Fund can visit growthimpactfund.org.uk to learn more and register their interest or email enquiriesGIF@bigissueinvest.com.
Having lived in the Brixton area in the 60s and a member of the Windrush group I am fully aware of the Brixton of those days and the role people from the Caribbean played in its development I am very happy to see this project coming forward, my hope is that our people will give it all the support necessary.