Minority Business Matters launches a powerful new directory for London’s creative community

Cultural Union Editors

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A new business directory has launched in London angled at helping ethnic minority businesses and freelancers connect with new clients.

For those yet to encounter the work of  Minority Business Matters (MBM), it’s an organisation helping London’s ethnic minority freelancers and businesses to succeed. It was created as a government-backed partnership between MSDUK, an advocacy network for ethnic minority businesses, and Heart of the City, a charity working with companies across the capital to encourage them to have a positive impact on their workforce, community and environment.

Minority Business Matters offers training and helps businesses and freelancers connect with leading brands and public-sector organisations, supporting their development and enabling them to become supplier-ready. As part of this mission, they have also now developed the CCI Directory – a directory of creative and cultural freelancers. It’s an idea that’s simple yet highly effective: if you’re a company that needs anything from a logo designer to a creative director – and for a one-off task or an entire campaign – it’s an essential resource to have at your fingertips.

A campaign for The Cambridge Satchel Company by London-based creative director Nieal Grewal, one of the creatives whose services are available on the CCI Directory. Grewal and her team did the campaign’s art direction, design direction, graphic design, casting, production and post-production (Images courtesy of Minority Business Matters)

We sat down with MBM’s programme lead, Nadia Forde, to learn more about the directory and how it will benefit freelancers and creative businesses in the UK capital and beyond.

What is exactly is the CCI directory, and how does it work?
The CCI Directory is an interactive tool that enables creative freelancers and those seeking to procure their talent to find each other easily and for free. A creative freelancer simply registers their details using a simple form on the Minority Business Matters website. Their data then gets verified and published. Talent seekers can filter the directory and view the profiles of creative freelancers from diverse backgrounds in any creative and cultural category they need support with, from digital marketing to film and TV, and from crafts to music and dance.

The directory takes moments to sign up and makes it easy for businesses to find freelancers (Source: Minority Business Matters)

Who is the CCI Directory for?  
The directly is for creative and cultural talent from diverse ethnic minority backgrounds. Whether you are a designer, a vocal coach or a weaver, you can join the directory. On the other side, it is for business customers of all sizes who wish to access diverse creative talent. It works for one-off projects and for retainers, too. 

Talents who work in the arts sector are often on freelance contracts. Is the CCI Directory for them, too? 
Absolutely. First and foremost, we encourage freelancers to join the directory to be discovered. Freelancers don’t tend to have big resources to help them get noticed beyond their own networks, so we’re trying to help them open up access to potential clients without additional costs. 

CCI Directory member Nieal Grewal art directed and conceptualised the photography shoots for the leading global beauty emporium Space NK (Images courtesy of Minority Business Matters)

The CCI Directory is part of a broader initiative, called Minority Business Matters. Please can you tell us more about what this is, and how the two initiatives work together?
Minority Business Matters is a government-backed partnership between MSDUK, an advocacy network for ethnic minority businesses, and Heart of the City, a responsible business charity helping London-based ethnic minority businesses and freelancers to develop their skills and capabilities to become ready to join the corporate and public sector supply chain.

Commitment to supporting diverse suppliers often seems just a tick-box exercise. We want to change this practice.

Nadia Forde, Minority Business Matters

Why do you think an initiative like the CCI Directory is needed now? 
The need for an intervention that specifically supports London’s creative and cultural freelancers with a multitude of ethnic backgrounds has become particularly apparent in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. As a 2021 report on the impact of COVID on the creative industries highlights, the creative industries saw a 60% drop in revenue in London alone during 2020, with one in six jobs within the sector at risk. Freelancers were especially vulnerable, with 70% of those surveyed reporting a significant reduction in work opportunities, and ethnic minority freelancers were hit the hardest, facing a 45% loss in income on average.

Creative business The Shapes UK, listed on the CCI Directory, address a wide range of creative needs including (left + right) leading creative workshops exploring social issues in the UK; (centre) set design for the Victoria & Albert Museum (Images courtesy of Minority Business Matters)

How do you anticipate the CCI Directory is going to make a positive impact?
We hope the directory will help to amplify the voices of ethnically diverse creative and cultural professionals in the capital. London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, yet businesses and freelancers often tell us that commitment to supporting diverse suppliers often seems just a tick-box exercise. We want to change this practice and help diverse voices to be heard.

What’s the ambition for the future of the CCI Directory?
We would like the directory to grow and become a go-to resource for London’s creative professionals, whether they wish to offer their services or look for those diverse voices their customers want to hear.