UbumWi: Black-Led Economic Ecosystem Launch

Aim: We’re launching UbumWi, a Black-led platform to connect, fund, and grow Black-owned businesses through solidarity, culture, and cooperation.

Who We Are

UbumWi CIC is a Black-led, UK-based organisation building an economic platform rooted in community, cooperation, and shared power.

We’re not a start-up chasing buzz. We’re a small team of organisers, creatives, and practitioners with deep experience in Black cooperative work, digital tools, and grassroots organising. This isn’t a marketplace. It’s infrastructure — quiet, deliberate, and built to last.

Why UbumWi

“UbumWi” comes from ubumwe, the Kinyarwanda word for togetherness.

This project is grounded in that principle. It’s not just about supporting Black businesses — it’s about creating systems that hold us together.

Over the past year, we’ve been listening. People told us they needed:

• Visibility
• Access to funding
• Shared tools
• A way to preserve and pass on our culture

UbumWi is a response to that.

What We’ve Already Built

• The platform is live
• Over 500 Black-owned businesses have been verified
• 20 are already onboarded in a private beta
• Some are already seeing results — new customers, better exposure, more traction

This isn’t a concept. It’s working. We just need help taking it further.

What We’re Raising

We’re asking for £40,000 to fund Phase One of UbumWi’s public launch. Your support will go directly to:

£15,000 – Core platform tools (verified listings, peer messaging)
£10,000 – Onboarding 100+ Black-owned businesses with real support
£8,000 – Shared tools (contract templates, supplier matching, peer funding access)
£7,000 – A digital archive of Black business stories and contributions

Every £10 helps bring one more Black-owned business into the ecosystem.
Every £100 supports a co-op or creative group with the tools they need to access funding and build sustainability.

Why It Matters

Black-owned businesses receive less than 0.24% of venture capital in the UK. That’s not a gap. It’s the system working how it was designed to.

We’re not waiting to be included. We’re building what we need.

This isn’t charity. It’s about keeping value circulating in our communities — through ownership, trust, and collective effort.

How You Can Help

• Donate what you can
• Become a monthly supporter
• Share the campaign with people in your network

We’ve built the foundation. Now we’re asking the community to help us grow it.

Let’s do it together.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 17th July 2025 at 3:21pm