The journalists will speak at the second UK Black Business Entrepreneurs Conference which will take place at the NatWest Conference Centre in London on July 13

Times Radio broadcaster and media consultant Henry Bonsu, and BBC journalist, presenter and founder of We Are Black Journos, Hannah Ajala, have been confirmed as hosts of the UK Black Business Entrepreneurs Conference (BBEC23).

An Oxford languages graduate, Bonsu – who was famously hailed as “too intellectual” by BBC London – has become celebrated for his witty, engaging, and incisive analysis of news and current affairs.

Hannah Ajala is an international journalist and presenter currently specialising in podcasts for the BBC. In 2018, Hannah founded We Are Black Journos, an events and networking platform connecting and celebrating Black journalists, who, shockingly, only make up just over 1 percent of journalists in the UK.

Bonsu, returning after his splendid oratory engaged, entertained, and informed the packed auditorium of 300 entrepreneurs at the 2022 inaugural UK Business Entrepreneurs Conference said:

“I believe that on the back of the report this conference will turbocharge the conversations we must have between the producers, the suppliers, and the gatekeepers because we've had many reports and conferences before, but they've mainly been talking shops not action shops. I’m hoping that this day will bring all those forces together to see genuine change so that all the energy, the passion and the ideas of our entrepreneurs will be realized in real businesses and real growth - and real levelling up”

Hannah Ajala has interviewed many powerful and dynamic individuals including Andrea Thompson, Editor of Marie Claire, and numerous Journalists and renowned experts from across the globe.

This year Ajala will be the host of the Women’s Empowerment Room. This room is dedicated to introducing and chairing a panel of successful women including: Theresa Harrison, Global Director of Environmental Social Governance Services & Enablement Services Leader at Ernst & Young, Izzy Obeng, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Foundervine & a Non-Executive Director for Capital Enterprise, and Jacy Stewart, Social Impact and Investment Consultant

Dr Carlton Brown, CEO of Aspire Consultancy and founder of BBEC23, said: “We are delighted to welcome Henry and Hannah to the second, annual UK Black Business Entrepreneurs Conference.

“As internationally renowned journalists, whose key topics include equity and equality, their voices will inspire and empower black businesses. This is just the beginning of what promises to be another inspiring and transformative event.”

BBEC23 is dedicated to bridging the gap between entrepreneurial opportunity and success for black businesses.

This year’s sold-out event will be held on Thursday July 13, 2023, at the NatWest Conference Centre in London – with the aim of galvanising a dialogue between different parts of the business community, policymakers, financial institutions, and the public, private, and third sectors so as to foster open and meaningful conversations in a new and powerful way.

As excitement builds for the UK Black Entrepreneurs Conference 2023, more headline speakers will be announced in the coming days and weeks.

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