The Ethnic Minority Business Advocacy Network (EMBAN), is holding a conference in the East Midlands on Tuesday 23rd November, to explore the role that ethnic minority entrepreneurs have to play in future business and job creation.

The event, entitled 'Establishing a national voice for ethnic minority businesses' has been organised by EMBAN, which was set up by four of England's Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) last year to promote the interests of ethnic minority run enterprises and encourage and support more entrepreneurs from this sector.

This is the first national EMBAN business conference, where leaders of minority business organisations and policy makers will hear the economic arguments for the provision of greater support for ethnic minority businesses in the future. In addition, it will also provide an opportunity for delegates to exchange ideas and learn about the latest developments in ethnic minority business policy.

The conference, which is being held at the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) in Nottingham, is aimed at professionals working in business support and policy, those running minority enterprise support networks and others involved in economic development. It will feature seven renowned speakers from a diverse range of organisations which represent and promote ethnic minority entrepreneurs. In addition, Cathy Francis, a Deputy Director at Communities and Local Government (CLG), will be providing her perspective on how ethnic minority businesses can make the most of the opportunities available to them.

It is estimated that businesses run by entrepreneurs from ethnic minorities already contribute more than £20 billion to the UK economy per year, five per cent of the total contribution made to the British economy by small and medium sized enterprises. Many ethnic minority run businesses operate in high value sectors such as finance, IT and creative industries, and they have also established strong trading links with India and China, which have wider benefits for the national and regional economy.

Ian Harrison, Head of Business Support and Enterprise Policy at emda, which leads on EMBAN, said: "This conference is a unique opportunity for people involved in business policy making, to come together to share ideas about how best to support ethnic minority entrepreneurship over the coming years. It is vitally important that we provide the right environment to nurture and develop a new generation of entrepreneurs from the ethnic minority communities, who will play a vital role in the creation of new jobs and prosperity throughout the UK in future."

If anyone is interested in attending this, or future EMBAN events, they should contact Cornelius Muyunda, EMBAN Manager, by emailing CorneliusMuyunda@emd.org.uk, or by telephoning 0115 988 8436.