Project 23

What Project 23 does

Project 23 Works Ltd is a UK-based diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) consultancy headquartered in Bromley, England, operating since at least 2018 under the trading name "Project 23." The firm was co-founded by Elaine dela Cruz and Gary Rayneau, both serving as Executive Coaches and Principal DE&I Consultants, and is built around a core team of approximately 11 specialists spanning DE&I consulting, executive coaching, anti-racism advisory, and operations. Its offering is structured around three service pillars: Education & Awareness (co-created training, workshops, and talks on DEI fundamentals, bias, and bystander intervention), Empower Leaders (leadership development including Inclusive Leadership, Inclusive Management, and the Elevate programme for underrepresented talent), and Enable Change (DE&I strategy implementation covering discovery sessions, organisational values embedding, inclusive recruitment reviews, and long-term advisory retainers).

The firm's "technology" consists of proprietary consulting methodologies rather than software: a Human-centred DE&I Strategy Framework that combines hearts-and-minds engagement with measurable outcomes, and a Coaching with Purpose methodology threaded through one-to-one, group, team, and DEI-professional coaching. Services are delivered by senior consultants and ICF-credentialed coaches rather than via a digital platform; no software products, APIs, or AI tooling are disclosed. The company operates a coordinated ecosystem including sister company Coaches of Colour (specialist coaching for people of colour) and the co-founded Equitable Coaching Foundation.

Commercially, Project 23 generates revenue exclusively through professional services — custom-quoted consulting engagements, project-based work, and multi-year retainer advisory partnerships delivered to enterprise clients. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is tailored to engagement scope, team size, and delivery format. The go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales via the company website, professional networking on LinkedIn, and client testimonials; named enterprise clients include Business of Fashion, Google, NSPCC, Nesta, TFG, and RocketMill, with delivery demonstrated across at least 10 markets globally.

Name

Project 23

Legal name

Project 23 Works Ltd

Website

https://project23works.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Project 23 is a UK-based DE&I consultancy that delivers training, leadership development, and strategic advisory services to enterprise clients across multiple sectors. Co-founded by Elaine dela Cruz and Gary Rayneau, the firm operates through three service pillars — Education & Awareness, Empower Leaders, and Enable Change — and serves as a sister entity to Coaches of Colour and the Equitable Coaching Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

DE&I Consulting Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Cooperation, Capacity Building & Policy Advisory Programs (BPADABAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Stakeholder, Communication & Change Management (EDABAHAF), Program & Project Implementation (TA Delivery) (BPADAEAA)

Keywords

• DE&I consulting
• Diversity training
• Inclusive leadership
• Executive coaching
• Culture transformation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. DE&I Consulting Services: Strategic consultancy engagements including organisational assessments, DE&I strategy development, policy reviews, and ongoing advisory retainer services. Engagement models include project-based work and long-term retainer partnerships.
2. Leadership Development Programs: Bespoke leadership programmes including Inclusive Leadership for Organisational Success, Inclusive Management workshops, and Elevate programme for underrepresented talent. Delivered through group workshops and coaching formats.
3. Education and Training Workshops: Co-created training sessions, workshops, and talks on key DE&I topics including DEI exploration, bias and perceptions, bystandander intervention, and custom topic series.
4. Coaching Services: One-to-one, group, and team coaching services including specialised coaching for DEI professionals and coaching for people of colour through sister company Coaches of Colour.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Project 23 provides DE&I consultation, education, and coaching services to organisations, structured around three pillars: Education & Awareness (training and workshops), Empower Leaders (leadership development programs), and Enable Change (strategy implementation and advisory). Services are tailored to client needs through discovery sessions, workshops, coaching, and long-term retainer partnerships delivered by senior DE&I consultants and ICF-accredited executive coaches.

Product overview

Project 23 is a DE&I consultancy offering a unified portfolio of services structured around three core pillars: Education & Awareness (training and workshops), Empower Leaders (leadership development programmes), and Enable Change (strategy implementation and consultancy). The company provides both modular services that can be selected independently and integrated programmes that combine multiple offerings. Named products include coaching services through its sister company Coaches of Colour. The offering architecture is service-based rather than software-based, with no platform or API products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Education & Awareness Co-created training, workshops, and talks that explore key DE&I topics including DEI fundamentals, bias exploration, bystander intervention, and communication strategies. Delivered for enterprise organisations seeking to build awareness and practical skills across their workforce.
• Empower Leaders Bespoke leadership development programs equipping leaders and managers with skills to lead diverse teams, including Inclusive Leadership for Organisational Success, Inclusive Management workshops, Elevate program for underrepresented talent, and Coaching with Purpose methodology. Designed for senior leaders, people managers, and high-potential talent within enterprise organisations.
• Enable Change DE&I consultancy services focused on strategy implementation, including discovery and listening sessions, organisational values embedding, inclusive recruitment reviews, Employee Resource Group (ERG) support, and long-term DEI advisory partnerships. Delivered for enterprise organisations seeking systemic culture change.
• Coaches of Colour Sister company offering coaching specifically for people of colour, delivered by coaches who bring lived experience and understanding to their practice. Project 23 refers clients for specialised coaching services through this partnership, offering a complementary service within the DE&I ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• Employees from marginalised racial and ethnic groups who experience racism at work
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Coaches of ColourcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company providing coaching specifically for people of colour, delivered by coaches who bring lived experience and understanding to their practice. Project 23 refers clients for specialised coaching services through this partnership, offering a complementary service within the DE&I ecosystem.
• Equitable Coaching FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Gary Rayneau along with Project 23 and Coaches of Colour. Foundation focused on promoting equitable coaching practices and expanding access to coaching for underrepresented groups.
• Business of FashionmajorOthersGlobal Head of People at Business of Fashion provided testimonial praising Project 23's collaborative partnership, deep business understanding, and consistent support across consultancy, training, and coaching engagements.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Green Park: UK-based executive search and diversity-focused advisory firm providing leadership consulting, diversity analytics and inclusive leadership programmes. Overlaps with Project 23's Empower Leaders pillar and senior advisory work at enterprise clients.
• Pearn Kandola: UK-based business psychology consultancy specialising in unconscious bias training, inclusive leadership and psychometric assessments. A larger incumbent with overlapping training and leadership development offerings to enterprise HR teams.
• Catapult (a FGS Global company): UK-based DE&I consultancy and training provider offering workshops, leadership development and strategy support to enterprises. Directly comparable in service mix and target buyer to Project 23, with greater scale.
• Kincentric (a Spencer Stuart company): Global employee experience and culture advisory firm offering inclusion and engagement diagnostics. Provides institutional-scale alternative to Project 23's culture change and inclusive leadership engagements.

Direct peers

• The Clear Company: UK-based DE&I consultancy offering organisational diagnostics, training and inclusive recruitment support to enterprise clients. Directly comparable to Project 23's Enable Change pillar in market and service mix.
• The Diversity Trust: UK non-profit and consultancy delivering DE&I training, coaching and strategy support to organisations. Comparable to Project 23's training and advisory offering, particularly in the charity/public sector.
• Inclusive Employers: UK membership and consultancy organisation focused on workplace inclusion, offering training, benchmarking and advisory to enterprise HR and DE&I teams. Directly competitive with Project 23 for enterprise DE&I mandates in the UK.
• EW Group: London-based DE&I specialist consultancy providing training, coaching and advisory. Closely comparable to Project 23 in target buyer (enterprises), service portfolio (workshops, leadership development, advisory) and UK-anchored delivery model.

Others

• Great Place to Work UK: UK workplace culture research, certification and advisory organisation. Adjacent ecosystem player; clients often pair Great Place to Work benchmarking with DE&I advisory engagements of the type Project 23 delivers.

Emerging players

• Diversity & Ability: UK-based social enterprise providing disability inclusion training, consultancy and workshops. Comparable to Project 23's Education & Awareness pillar but with a narrower focus on disability.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_project23
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/project-23-works

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Project 23