UK Black Business Show

What UK Black Business Show does

UK Black Business Show Ltd is a private UK events company founded in 2017 by Raphael Sofoluke, operating the UK's leading annual event for the Black business community. The flagship UK Black Business Show is a one-day exhibition and conference held at ExCeL London (scheduled for 17 October 2026), drawing 8,000+ visitors, 200+ speakers, and 200+ exhibitors across four conference streams (Main Stage, Entrepreneurs Stage, Careers Stage, Tech Stage) and three exhibition zones, plus dedicated Careers and Business Advice hubs and The Launchpad Competition for entrepreneurs. The 2026 edition is the show's 10th, and the keynote speaker is Emma Grede (CEO & Co-Founder of Good American).

The business has expanded beyond the single show into a portfolio under the Black Business Experience brand, including UK Black Business Week, the Black Tech Achievement Awards (27 March 2026, London), and the Black Business Forum (20 June 2026, Birmingham). This portfolio creates a year-round community-driven engagement calendar rather than a single annual touchpoint. There is no proprietary technology product disclosed; the underlying stack is described as a digital platform for event management, ticketing, and content delivery.

Revenue is generated through four streams: ticket sales to individual attendees, tiered corporate sponsorship packages (Headline, Gold, Silver, Bronze), exhibition fees from corporate booths, and The Launchpad Competition. Sponsor logos include HSBC UK (Exclusive Headline Partner), Citi, JPMorganChase, Lloyds Bank, Ralph Lauren, IKEA, bp, Salesforce, BBC, eBay, Square, Phoenix Group, The Sunday Times, and UK Export Finance. The company is registered in England & Wales (Company No: 10770948), headquartered in London, and operates with an 11–50 employee team. No external funding rounds, parent company, or institutional investors are disclosed in the source material.

Name

UK Black Business Show

Legal name

UK Black Business Show Ltd

Website

https://ukblackbusinessshow.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UK Black Business Show is the UK's leading annual event for Black entrepreneurs and professionals, attracting 8,000+ visitors, 200+ speakers, and 200+ exhibitors. Founded in 2017, the portfolio includes Black Tech Achievement Awards, Black Business Forum, and UK Black Business Week.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Events & Exhibitions

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Exhibition & Trade Show Management (Conference-Adjacent) (THAHACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Trade Shows & Exhibitions (Booths, Show Management) (BPAFAGAD), Trade Shows & Industry Expos (B2B) (MPAGAHAB)

Keywords

• Business exhibitions
• Trade show events
• Entrepreneurship conferences
• Corporate sponsorships
• Professional networking events

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from individual attendees purchasing tickets to attend the annual UK Black Business Show. The event offers various ticket tiers for visitors.
2. Sponsorship Packages: Corporate sponsors pay for various sponsorship tiers (Headline Partner, Gold, Silver, Bronze) to gain visibility, brand placement, and access to the Black professional and entrepreneurial community. Sponsors include major corporations like HSBC UK, Citi, JPMorganChase, Lloyds, Ralph Lauren, IKEA, and bp.
3. Exhibition Fees: Revenue from businesses and organizations renting exhibition space at the event. Corporate exhibitors include Sky Business, Walt Disney, Legal & General, Salesforce, HSBC, BBC, JP Morgan Chase, and others.
4. Launchpad Competition: The Launchpad Competition provides a platform for entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses, with winners gaining exposure and prizes. This attracts participants and generates interest in the broader event ecosystem.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UK Black Business Show produces an annual business exhibition and conference for Black entrepreneurs, professionals, and SMEs in the UK, held at ExCeL London. The event features 200+ speakers across Main, Entrepreneurs, Careers, and Tech stages, 200+ exhibitors across multiple exhibition zones, and 8,000+ visitors. It sits within a year-round portfolio that includes UK Black Business Week, Black Tech Achievement Awards, Black Business Forum, and The Launchpad Competition.

Product overview

UK Black Business Show operates as a multi-event platform under the Black Business Experience brand, encompassing the flagship UK Black Business Show (annual event in London), UK Black Business Week (a week-long series), Black Tech Achievement Awards, and Black Business Forum. The core show features multiple conference stages (Main, Entrepreneurs, Careers, Tech), advice hubs (Careers Zone, Business Advice Hub), and The Launchpad Competition. The event portfolio serves Black professionals, entrepreneurs, and allies through inspiring talks, workshops, networking, and exhibitions, attracting 200+ speakers, 8,000+ visitors, and 200+ exhibitors across 4+ conference streams and 3+ exhibition zones.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Black Tech Achievement Awards: An award program celebrating Black achievement in technology, part of the Black Business Experience event portfolio
• Black Business Forum
• The Launchpad Competition

Products and services

• UK Black Business Show The flagship annual business exhibition and conference for Black entrepreneurs, professionals, and SMEs in the UK, held at ExCeL London. Attracts 8,000+ visitors, 200+ speakers, and 200+ exhibitors across 4+ conference streams and 3+ exhibition zones.
• UK Black Business Week An annual week-long umbrella series of events and activities supporting Black professionals and entrepreneurs across multiple locations and formats.
• Black Tech Achievement Awards An awards ceremony recognizing achievements of Black technology professionals and companies, part of the Black Business Experience event portfolio.
• Black Business Forum A Birmingham-based business forum event that is part of the UK Black Business Week portfolio, expanding the event's geographical reach beyond London.
• The Launchpad Competition A competition for entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses and win support, prizes, and exposure, hosted as part of the UK Black Business Show.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8,000+ total visitors annually
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• HSBC UKflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025HSBC UK is the Exclusive Headline Partner of UK Black Business Show 2025, providing primary sponsorship for the flagship event. This partnership positions HSBC as the lead corporate supporter of the Black business community event.
• CiticoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Citi serves as a Gold Sponsor and Careers Stage Sponsor for UK Black Business Show 2025, supporting career development programming for attendees.
• JPMorganChasecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025JPMorganChase is a Gold Sponsor and Entrepreneur Stage Sponsor, supporting entrepreneurship programming and the broader Black business community.
• Lloyds BankcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Lloyds Bank is a Gold Sponsor of UK Black Business Show 2025, supporting the event as a major financial services partner serving the Black business community.
• Ralph LaurencoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Ralph Lauren is a Gold Sponsor, demonstrating corporate commitment to diversity and inclusion in the UK market.
• IKEAcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025IKEA is a Silver Sponsor, supporting the event as part of its diversity and inclusion initiatives in the UK.
• bpcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025bp is a Gold Sponsor, supporting the UK Black Business Show as part of its corporate social responsibility and diversity initiatives.
• SalesforcecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Salesforce is the Tech Stage Sponsor, supporting technology-focused programming and sessions at the event.
• BBCminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025BBC is a Bronze Sponsor and also featured as a corporate exhibitor, engaging with the Black business community.
• eBayminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025eBay is a Bronze Sponsor and corporate exhibitor, supporting Black entrepreneurs and small business owners.
• SquareminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Square is a Bronze Sponsor, supporting the event to connect with Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Phoenix GroupminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Phoenix is a Bronze Sponsor, supporting diversity and inclusion in the UK business community.
• The Sunday TimesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025The Sunday Times is a Panel Sponsor, supporting thought leadership and panel discussions at the event.
• UK Export Finance (UKEF)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025UKEF supports export finance guidance and resources for Black-owned businesses participating in the show.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Black Enterprise: Operates the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit + Expo in the US, the most established direct analog: a multi-day event for Black entrepreneurs, professionals, and corporate partners with exhibitor halls, keynote content, and tiered sponsorships. Same community-focus, trade-show-with-content format, though US-centric.
• ESSENCE Festival of Culture: Large-scale annual cultural and entrepreneurship event targeting the Black community with corporate sponsorships, exhibitor villages, and speaker programming. Comparable as a flagship community-anchored live event with tiered sponsorship economics, though more cultural/lifestyle than pure B2B.
• Advertising Week: Multi-day B2B industry event combining keynote conferences, exhibitor zones, and headline-tier corporate sponsorships in a verticalized professional community. Closely comparable operating format to UK Black Business Show, though serving the advertising/creative industry rather than a demographic community.

Broad incumbents

• Reed Exhibitions (RX): Operates hundreds of B2B trade shows globally with tiered sponsorship and exhibition revenue streams. Comparable as a mature events-business model that demonstrates the enterprise value ceiling for organizer-led trade shows, even though RX is industry-agnostic.
• Informa Markets: World's largest B2B exhibitions organizer running thousands of trade shows across industries. Comparable as a scaled operator of paid-exhibitor, sponsor-driven B2B events; useful benchmark for unit economics and venue-leverage economics even though Informa does not specialize in the Black business niche.
• Web Summit: Large-scale annual B2B tech conference with 70,000+ attendees, multi-stage programming, exhibition halls, and tiered corporate sponsorships. Comparable as a flagship professional-community event with content-plus-exhibition economics, useful for benchmarking scale and sponsor monetization.
• Money 20/20: Large B2B fintech trade show with major bank sponsors (including the same banks that sponsor UK Black Business Show: HSBC, Citi, JPMorgan, Lloyds). Comparable sponsor overlap and tiered financial-services sponsorship model, useful for benchmarking sponsor economics in the same corporate buyer set.
• TechCrunch Disrupt: Flagship startup/tech event with exhibition zones, stage programming, headline sponsorships, and the Launchpad-style startup competition. Closely comparable as a flagship event with a startup pitch competition as a core product and tiered enterprise sponsorships.

Regional players

• Afropolitan: UK-based media and events brand covering African and Caribbean diaspora professional life. Comparable as a UK-rooted platform serving the same community with event and content touchpoints, though smaller scale and more content-led than exhibition-led.

Emerging players

• Black Ballad: UK-based membership community and events platform serving Black professional women. Comparable audience overlap and community-led GTM motion in the same UK Black professional niche, though more media/membership-led than large-scale trade show.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ukbbshow
• Facebookfacebook.com/UKBBSHOW
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uk-black-business-show
• Instagraminstagram.com/ukbbshow
• TikToktiktok.com/@ukblackbusinesss

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 UK Black Business Show