Mizuho was proud to mark Black History Month in the UK and Black Achievement Month in the Netherlands with a special event celebrating Black entrepreneurship, leadership and achievement this year.
October is an important moment to recognise and celebrate Black history, achievement and contribution. This year, Mizuho’s Cultural Diversity Network brought colleagues together for ‘Building Legacy: Leadership, Entrepreneurship and the Future of Black Excellence’, a fireside chat with Black business founders and leaders.
Colleagues joined us in London, Amsterdam and online from across EMEA for an insightful conversation that explored building purpose-led businesses, overcoming funding challenges and turning community support into lasting commercial opportunities.
Building legacy through entrepreneurship
Moderated by Tomi Sodeinde, Managing Director, Head of Counterparty Credit Risk at Mizuho, the discussion brought together Michaelle Kubwimana, Founder of Kawah Coffee, and Nneka Fleming, Founder of Airfro, to share their experiences of building and scaling their businesses.
Michaelle shared the story behind Kawah Coffee, an award-winning farm-to-cup speciality coffee brand that reinvests profits into supporting women coffee farmers in Rwanda. Continuing on her family’s coffee business meant growing not only the business, but also alongside the community that it is established in.
Nneka introduced Airfro, a haircare brand creating products designed for active lifestyles. Stemming from a desire to solve an everyday problem, the brand is focused on designing for the future, offering ranges made from natural ingredients and sustainably sourced, products packaged using recycled materials.
Throughout the discussion, Michaelle and Nneka reflected on the challenges of raising capital, the outlook for funding and investment, and the role large institutions can play in supporting founders and fostering growth.
The conversation gave colleagues the opportunity to hear directly from two entrepreneurs about their experiences, the businesses they are building and their perspectives on the future of Black entrepreneurship.
Learn more about Inclusion at Mizuho EMEA here.
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