A TREHARRIS-based entrepreneur and their business have been awarded £10,000 to support future growth plans and ambitions.
Veronique Mbida and her business Bantu Chocolate have been given the grant funding by the entrepreneurship charity Hatch Enterprise in partnership with NatWest. Bantu Chocolate is one of 10 businesses across the UK to receive a share of the £100,000 grant funding round in celebration of Hatch’s 10th anniversary.
Bantu Chocolate is a bean-to-bar craft chocolate and cocoa pulp juice maker specialising in single origin cocoa products. Bantu is dedicated to turning a broken system into a fair, sustainable and modern supply chain.
Veronique Mbida, founder of Bantu Chocolate, said: “Receiving this grant is a significant milestone for Bantu Chocolate and a valuable opportunity to invest in our future growth. At Bantu Chocolate our unique ownership of a cocoa farm allows us to grow our own beans and craft chocolate from start to finish, ensuring a stable supply of high-quality cocoa and by-products.
“By investing in website improvements, visual content, and new seasonal products, we aim to reach more customers and better showcase our distinctive, farm-to-table chocolates and cocoa pulp-based beverages.”
The grants have been set up to enable business founders from diverse backgrounds to overcome barriers to growth typically faced by these groups in the start-up sector.
Applications in this round were open to graduates of Hatch programmes, targeting support at underrepresented founders. Of the awardees, nine were female founders, three were from an ethnic minority background and five were disabled. Nine out of the 10 grants were awarded to founders based outside of London.
Rebekah Capon, Managing Director at Hatch Enterprise, said: “Our mission at Hatch is to build a better world through entrepreneurship, supporting those typically underrepresented in the sector to launch and grow sustainable, successful businesses. Access to funding is a huge barrier to growth for any business, and even more so for historically marginalised communities.
“This partnership with NatWest is the perfect way for us to mark our tenth year as a charity, and we’re so pleased for the ten incredible founders awarded funding. Receiving these grants of £10,000 will make a real difference to the founders themselves, their businesses, and their wider communities.”
As the biggest bank for start-ups in Great Britain1, NatWest provided funding for the grants and has been a longstanding supporter of Hatch, donating £1 million pounds to the charity last year to accelerate its work. NatWest also sponsors Hatch’s Launchpad and Incubator programmes, helping entrepreneurs to develop the knowledge, skills, confidence and network needed to launch and grow their business.
James Holian, Head of Business Banking at NatWest, said: “At NatWest we believe no matter who you are or where you come from, with the right support, entrepreneurs from any background can succeed in business. Our research shows that breaking down barriers to entrepreneurship will not only make the UK fairer, but also stimulate growth of the wider UK economy.”
