Black-owned businesses in Islington are being asked to take part in a survey for how they can be better supported by the borough council.

Islington Council launched the outreach scheme on the recent Black Pound Day - which focuses on empowering the community.

The authority said it hopes a partnership with organisers of the day aims to support the council to achieve its commitment to address the economic inequalities and imbalances affecting Black businesses and owners in Islington.

Councillor Santiago Bell-Bradford said: “Part of our commitment to create a fairer Islington is helping to level the playing field for everyone, and tackling disadvantage in innovative ways.

“This new partnership with Black Pound Day will help us promote Black-owned businesses and encourage people to spend with Black entrepreneurs.

“We know that aspiring Black entrepreneurs and Black-owned businesses face additional barriers to starting and running businesses. We want them to have the same opportunity to succeed as any others, and contribute fully to Islington’s vibrant and exciting business community.”

The council said the partnership will help increase the visibility of local Black-owned businesses and offer them support where needed.

The councillor added: “By making our local, diverse talent more visible, we also want to motivate more organisations and bigger businesses to actively use Black-owned businesses as part of their supply chain.

“To do all of this, it’s important to first fully understand who our local Black-owned businesses are, the additional barriers and difficulties they face, and establish how best to go about addressing the problems. This is part of a package of support we are delivering to help create a more inclusive economy in Islington.”

The local business survey is aimed specifically at Black-owned businesses trading within the borough, and its findings will help the council to identify what the most pressing needs are for Black-owned businesses in Islington and come up with solutions to best support their business journey.

The participating businesses are also invited to join the free Black Pound Day Directory – which lists more than 1,500 Black-owned businesses – and the option to have their business included on the local business map, which is powered by Google.

The survey is available now and runs until the end of October. It can be found at https://tinyurl.com/Black-Pound-Day-x-Islington