UberEats fund sees £250,000 handed to 25 small food businesses
An entrepreneur who started a jerk chicken business from her mum's kitchen is among winners of the 2024 UberEats Black Business Fund, run by Enterprise Nation. Almost 1,000 restaurants applied for the fund, with winners based across the country, from towns and cities including London, Sheffield, Plymouth, and Hoddesdon. Karis Theophane, who began Jerk Grill in 2018, completely sold out of food within two hours when she first took it to the streets of Peckham in her food truck.
Working six days a week through the COVID-19[1] pandemic at her Cafe in the Pembury Community Centre, and overcoming the theft of her truck, Karis is now ready to open a new site in Hackney this month. The Black Business Fund, set up by Uber Eats and run by Enterprise Nation, sees GBP250,000 distributed to 25 small Black-owned businesses across the country. To date, businesses have received over GBP500,000 of grants since the award scheme started in 2021.
Winner, Karis Theophane, said: "We have definitely outgrown Mum's kitchen! We are more than a jerk place, we are a community anchor providing jobs for disadvantaged people and a place for people from all walks of life to gather. Providing a space like this can be an inspiration to the local community - empowering people to build an equitable future, be more confident and have a positive impact in society."
Alongside the GBP10,000 grant, Karis has invested family savings into a new location in Clapton which is due to open this month. Karis added: "The grant will fund a marketing campaign to help promote the new site. Our new forever home also enables us to create five new jobs immediately as we continue to grow.
Ultimately, we want to reinvest our profits into the business, helping us deliver our social mission of reducing food poverty, social isolation and providing meaningful employment & training opportunities for those living in the local community." Matthew Price, Uber Eats UK General Manager, said: "In total, the Uber Eats Black Business Fund has now provided grants of over half a million pounds helping to support small businesses across the country. We know that Black-owned businesses face unique challenges and we're proud to offer support through this fund.
The UK is rightly celebrated for its vibrant and diverse restaurant scene, and it's crucial to continue nurturing the next generation of talent." Emma Jones CBE, founder of Enterprise Nation, said: "The UberEats Black Business Fund delivers much-needed funding and strategic support to underrepresented businesses in the hospitality sector. It's an industry that's been squeezed tightly by higher energy and labour costs, and we've seen many casualties dropping out of the market.
"Consistent, targeted support like this really helps to boost the next generation of new, innovative and diverse businesses that are otherwise excluded from more traditional sources of funding."
The full list of winners is:
- Jerk Grill
- American Bites Ltd
- Dudleys Coffee
- Original London
- The Flygerians
- Bake Yard
- Blessone Kitchen
- Borough 22 Limited
- The Food Bandits LTD
- Dirty Chicken
- Yoyo's Desserts Ltd
- Jerk King Bristol
- Mud Cafes
- The Ital Collection by Vita LTD
- Yettis Kitchen
- Beanie Bun
- Sisterwoman Vegan
- Mina Cuisine
- Stuffed ltd
- The Jamaican Ltd
- Lyfbar
- Jabulani Plymouth CIC
- The Jerk joint London ltd
- Dinner at Sans
- Afrisian Ltd