Why Dr. Beckmann turns into Dr. Beckwoman for International Women’s Day

Legendary laundry brand Dr. Beckmann changed its name and its iconic brand colour to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Dr. Beckmann, beloved by domestic gods and goddesses everywhere, rebranded to Dr. Beckwoman, for the second year running, to commemorate the day – with a limited-edition purple run of the UK’s number one washing machine cleaner, Service-it Deep Clean. The brand revealed that the winner of Dr. Beckwoman of the Year for 2021, and cleaning champion of the year, is the inspirational cleaning guru, loved by the nation, Mrs. Hinch.

Mrs. Hinch, aka Sophie Hinchliffe, retains the award for the second year running after being named as one of the Dr. Beckwomen of the Year in 2020. The bold change from Dr. Beckmann to Dr. Beckwoman acknowledged the special day and paid tribute to gender equality worldwide.

Susan Fermor, Dr Beckmann spokesperson, said: “We sent love and respect to the incredible women around the country on what was a special day by rebranding as Dr. Beckwoman in their honour.

“We’re delighted that our fans and customers have also named Mrs. Hinch as cleaning champion and Dr. Beckwoman of the Year for 2021. Her award is thoroughly deserved as she’s inspired so many women (and men) across the UK throughout lockdown to take joy in keeping our homes as clean and fresh as possible.

It’s the second year running that she’s been nominated – this time she wins the title on her own, after sharing it last year with Stacey Solomon and Vicky Pattison.” Dr. Beckmann has also partnered with Women’s Aid - a nationwide charity established to end domestic violence against women and children and agreed to make a donation, as part of its International Women’s Day campaign, to help the charity’s hugely important work.

On partnering on the campaign, Women’s Aid Fundraising Manager, Faye Connelly, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Dr. Beckmann on this year’s IWD campaign. The success of our work very much depends on funds generously donated by companies and individuals across the UK – so to get this donation from Dr. Beckmann is a real boost.

“International Women’s Day was the perfect platform to remind everyone that violence against women is still a huge issue – and has been especially so during lockdown. We’ve lots of work still to do.”

This year, International Women’s Day’s mantra was ‘#ChoosetoChallenge’. It challenges everyone to call out gender bias and inequality.

Why improve female representation in middle management?

Female representation on UK business management boards in increasing but there are far fewer female employees from entry level positions reaching middle management roles.

Why Nigeria is now the global leader in the Bitcoin trade

Nigeria is fast becoming world leaders the world with more cryptocurrency trading going on there than anywhere else with one of the more prominent investors being Lagos resident, Tola Fadugbagbe.

After undertaking a series of odd jobs earning the minimum wage to survive, in 2016 the 34-year-old saw a Bitcoin advert after which his cryptocurrency journey began.

"I was spending hours every day watching videos on YouTube and reading articles about Bitcoin,” he recalled, “and I didn't have much money so I started with $100 to $200." It was a decision that transformed his life forever.

Now Mr Fadugbagbe is trading full time and teaches budding investors. He since said, at an early stage, that he had cryptocurrency worth more than $200,000 (£140,000) in his possession. And, furthermore, he has not looked back since.

"I'll soon be moving into my own house, which I'm building,” he said. “Now I have a very big farm - courtesy of cryptocurrency," he said. "No Nigerian comes to cryptocurrency and wants to look back. It's a big opportunity."

Tola’s story is just one of millions of Nigerians who have been attracted to digital currencies such as Bitcoin, with 2020 survey by data platform Statista revealing that 32% of the country is using cryptocurrencies - the highest proportion of any country in the world as it makes alternative sources of income and alternative currencies attractive.

Estimates show that of the top 10 countries for trading volumes, Nigeria ranked third place after the US and Russia in 2020, generating more than $400m worth of transactions. The Central Bank of Nigeria devalued the currency, the naira, by 24% last year, with fears of a further fall in value by as much as 10% this year.

Many Nigerians, however, have been reporting that their bank accounts have been frozen due to cryptocurrency-related activity, but Mr Fadugbagbe's bank manager managed to  call him and advise him that his account would be closed, giving him a day to transfer his funds – which he managed to do, leaving him ,and many other investors, say that they will continue to trade using their overseas bank accounts.

At the heart of the rise of Bitcoin in Nigeria is a distrust of centralised financial systems and top-down economic control, investors say. Many express their frustrations with government policy and the decline of the Nigerian economy.

None more so than Mr Fadugbagbe, who spent years struggling to scrape by as what he describes as a "minimum-wage slave".

"I don't do shares and government bonds", he says. "Those are scams. I trust cryptocurrency more."

Why Virgin Atlantic plans to make Barbados a regional hub

Virgin Atlantic is planning an expansion in the Caribbean by making Bridgetown, Barbados, its regional hub.

wilko extends instore mask recycling scheme

An instore scheme to help wilko customers recycle their masks has proved so successful that the home and garden retailer will further extend it until the end of the year. The scheme, which allows shoppers to drop off used, disposable face masks so that they can be recycled, will now be in place until the end of December 2021.

This further extension of the scheme, following an initial three-month pilot in April, sees the service remain in place at the retailer’s original 150 participating stores. 

wilko welcomes four-legged family members for the first time

Good news for animal lovers; wilko is welcoming pets instore for the first time at 248 of its locations nationwide from 7th February 2022. 

The rollout to over two thirds of the home and garden retailer’s stores follows a successful pilot at two locations. Furry friends, on their leads if applicable, will be able to browse all areas of the participating stores except for food aisles. 

Wilko wipes out 1500 tonnes of plastic

Demonstrating its ambition to be a better, responsible retailer, Wilko announced in March 2020 that its wipes would be plastic free and manufactured using viscose, a renewable plant fibre from a sustainable source.  What’s more, it was the first retailer to switch 100% of its Wilko brand wipes to plastic free, from antibacterial and cleansing wipes to car care. 

The retailer is planning on sharing its 1-year anniversary milestone of removing 1500 tonnes (47 trucks worth*) of plastic from the environment with an in-store customer campaign that celebrates their smart choices and highlights the impact they’ve help achieve.

Wilko CEO Jerome Saint-Marc said; ‘We’ve been focused on meeting our environmental ambitions for some time and proud to have been the first high-street retailer to offer plastic-free wipes across all our own brand options.  All 22 of them!

“We’re a family-owned retailer and understand the importance of making little changes for the better and, our responsibility to future generations. Our customers tell us that plastic reduction is important to them, that’s why we signed up to the UK Plastics Pact and, why we’re celebrating our 1500 tonnes milestone with them.”

Importantly, Wilko customers were able to make this ethical choice without having to pay more, as every pack of wipes sold remained at their everyday value price and offered the same levels of performance.

Wilko recently outlined ambitions to reduce its plastic use.  Elements of the Wilko Plastic Plan launched in June 2020 include; ensuring there is a minimum of 30 percent average recycled content across all plastic packaging by April 2022, eliminating all problematic plastics and reducing unnecessary plastic in all products by 2025 and making 100 percent of all plastic packaging and products reusable, recyclable or compostable.

Other sustainability initiatives from the retailer have included eliminating micro beads from Wilko products, replacing plastic stem ear buds and removing single use carrier bags from its 415 stores nationwide, replacing them with reusable bags for life made from 100 percent recycled plastic. Wilko is also already making improvements to the eco-credentials of its home collections and has signed up to the BRC net carbon road map in November 2020.

*based on 32-tonne articulated lorries

Will The Lockdown Produce More UK Writing Talent?

 

A new survey of writers has yielded powerful evidence that writers have been more resilient to the impact of lockdown. Whether or not we see the next big literary success story, we are on track to see a flurry of new books, unlike new film and TV content where productions have stalled.

With book downloads and Kindle sales currently going through the roof, more content and talent discovery is fantastic for avid readers. And many more people have taken up reading since pandemic restrictions locked them into their homes.

The survey by Page Turner Awards, an award for published and unpublished fiction and non-fiction from all genres judged by high-profile experts from the literary world, tallied responses from writers across 15 different countries.

Surprise findings showed that 61% of writers are able to write more since the lockdown started.

This would indicate that the lockdown hasn’t had as big a restricting effect on the majority of those within the writing community as it has with many other leisure, social or employment pursuits.

Among the notable results:

• Looking at the percentage splits shows that 39% of writers are writing less during lockdown. However, 61% are writing more or about the same as they make the best use of their extra writing time.
• Being able to write more or about the same would be encouraging for the 34% of writers who write full time, so the lockdown hasn’t disturbed their main livelihood, unlike so many other professions and creative interest areas.

Writers who have been able to write more during lockdown claim they can write more due to home working freeing up more time and less socializing means more writing time. Unfortunately, 33% of those who are writing more are able to do so because they have lost their job.

The top reasons why people are writing less during lockdown is mainly due to new calls on their time, such as caring for family, more home working, and the need to do home-schooling.

One writer reported a serious block in creativity and had to find other methods to draw it out, saying the stress of the situation had stymied their creative process.

In the UK this ‘writing more trend’ is even more acute. Key results from UK writers revealed that nearly twice as many writers are finding it easier to write more, and writing a lot more than the survey average, with 60% of UK writers spending more time writing.

This has mainly been driven by a loss of job, using extra spare time to boost their writing output, with UK writers happy to turn to their passion for writing as a means of using their spare time positively. 70% of UK participants are part time writers.

Results from the US revealed that women were more likely to be full time writers, with 43% of all replies from US women were full time writers.

48% of writers surveyed in the US are writing less, a lot less, in fact, on average 30% less, and in many cases 100% less. The main reason for this shows the increased responsibility and time needed to care for family particularly, it would seem, by the many female writers who find themselves in this position. The most notable US result shows that only 28% of the American writers surveyed have been able to write more.

Co-Founder of Page Turner Awards, Paula Sheridan said, “It’s wonderful to see that writers are determined to use an increase in their spare time to dedicate to their writing ambitions.”

The Page Turner Awards, sponsored by ProWritingAid, gives writers and authors the chance to enter unpublished or published fiction and non-fiction books, where a group of literary agents will read the work. Two writers are guaranteed to be published.

 

Willmott Dixon tops European poll for UK’s leading contractor for diversity

Local contractor Willmott Dixon was the UK’s highest placed construction company in the Financial Time’s annual European leaders for workplace diversity and inclusion list – ranking at number 43 out of 850 organisations listed for their approach to inclusivity.  

This is the West Midlands-based construction firm’s second time on the Diversity Leaders list, and saw it once again score higher ratings than any other peer company for its approach to diversity following online responses from over 100,000 employees at 15,000 companies across 16 European countries.

The 15,000 companies were rated on employee feedback which, along with the opinions of human resources and recruitment experts to refine the analysis, enabled the number to be whittled down to the top 850 companies. Willmott Dixon was also one of only 13 UK companies that appeared in the Diversity Leaders 2021 top 50.

With more and more businesses working hard to demonstrate how their activities have a positive impact on society and within local communities, promoting an inclusive work environment is essential to meeting these aims.

The Financial Times list is the third major national accolade this year that recognises Willmott Dixon’s people-first approach – after the contractor was ranked 5th in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work for list and was also named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women list.

Willmott Dixon has pledged to have 50/50 parity of gender across all management levels by 2030 and is rolling out a series of initiatives to support inclusivity. 

Rick Willmott, group chief executive, said: "Our inclusion in the latest Financial Times Diversity Leaders list again puts construction on the corporate map as an industry that is making huge strides in its approach to diversity and inclusion. This is important, as the industry is facing a skills shortage so broadening the talent pool available is fundamental to ensure a sustainable flow of future skills

"The Diversity Leaders 2021 list shines a welcome spotlight on the business’ imperative of workplace diversity, which will serve as an inspiration to us in how we continue as a company where our people feel valued and a key part of our growth. Successful companies are those that provide a diverse and inclusive environment where people feel challenged, contented and included within complementary teams. It is something that is embedded in our values.”

 

Winners announced at Black British Business Awards 2020

Segun Osuntokun, Managing Partner at top 20 international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) London Office, has been named as Business Person of the Year at the Black British Business Awards (BBBAwards) ceremony on 30 October 2020. Osuntokun impressed the judges with his strategic leadership at BCLP on complex projects for over 30 FTSE 100 companies and more than 50 Global Fortune 500 companies all with his unwavering passion for race equity in his 25+ year career in business.

 

For the seventh year in a row, the BBBAwards celebrated the outstanding achievements of Black British professionals and entrepreneurs, highlighting the community’s commercial contribution to the UK economy and identifying formidable role models and mentors across a number of sectors. The awards ceremony crowns a landmark year in history for racial equity and featured a special recognition for Black British frontline workers.

 

In addition to naming the Black British Business Person of the Year, the event also recognised the rising stars and senior leader winners in six industries. This year’s winners are some of the most determined and innovative Black leaders in the UK across a variety of professions; from a Founder of a revolutionary equine nutrition system to a Project Manager at Transport for London and Senior Partner at BWF Solicitors. They are inspiring the next generation of Black talent to challenge convention and follow in their footsteps.

 

Melanie Eusebe, Chair and Co-Founder of the Black British Business Awards said: “After a year filled with so many challenges, it was rewarding to take a step back this month to reflect not only on the history of the Black community here in the UK, but also to celebrate the incredible individuals who are making their mark now. Our Category Celebration events along with the Awards Ceremony provided us with many opportunities to reflect on how far our community has come, while recognising there is still much work to be done.”

 

Sophie Chandauka, Co-Founder of the Black British Business Awards said: “Each of our finalists and award winners is a source of inspiration, highlighting the significant accomplishments and important contributions the Black community is making in every sector of the business world. They all deserve recognition and congratulations for their accomplishments and it was our pleasure to honour them at the Black British Business Awards events this October.”

 

Tia Counts, Head of Advancing Black Pathways in EMEA at J.P. Morgan said: "J.P. Morgan continues to be a proud sponsor of the Black British Business Awards, which shines a light on exceptional talent in business. Year on year, the individual stories behind the awards never cease to make us proud of what our community can achieve. We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all of this year’s winners and finalists.”

 

The BBBAwards ceremony distinguished outstanding business talent in six industry categories, which are divided into rising star and senior leader awards. The full list of winners of the 2020 BBBAwards are as follows:

 

Black British Business Person of the Year

Segun Osuntokun, Managing Partner at BCLP, London Office

 

Arts & Media Rising Star

Nnena Nwakodo – Producer at Bartle Bogle Hegarty

 

Arts & Media Senior Leader

Anthony Andrews – Co-founder and Creative Director of We Are Parable

 

Consumer & Luxury Rising Star

Rachael Corson and Joycelyn Mate – Co-founders of Afrocenchix

 

Consumer & Luxury Senior Leader

Sandra Murphy – Founder of Equidiet UK Ltd

 

Entrepreneur Rising Star

Ayesha Ofori – CEO and Founder of Black Property Network

 

Entrepreneur Senior Leader Winner

Trevor Robinson OBE – Founder and Executive Creative Director of Quiet Storm

 

Financial Services Rising Star

Zainab Kwaw-Swanzy – Senior Digital Product Manager at Barclays

 

Financial Services Senior Leader

Gavin Lewis – Managing Director, Head of UK LGPS at BlackRock

 

Professional Services Rising Star

Natalie Carter – Senior Associate at Greenberg Traurig LLP

 

Professional Services Senior Leader

Bennard Owusu – Senior Partner at BWF Solicitors

 

STEM Rising Star

Ninarita Williams – Project Manager at Transport for London

 

STEM Senior Leader

Dr Abdullahi Sheriff - Executive, Solutions Strategy, Strategic Partnerships & Solutions, Europe at GE Healthcare

 

The BBBAwards have the privilege of partnering with J.P. Morgan as Key Partner of the Awards.

Sponsors also include Barclays, Baker McKenzie, Bloomberg L.P., Cisco, the Executive Leadership Council, Facebook, Fortnum and Mason, Freshfields, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Virgin Management, Wellington Management and Wells Fargo.

 

Winners announced at the 2021 Black British Business Awards

Edgar Chibaka and Jamal Tahlil, Co-Founders and Directors of First Response Group Ltd, have been announced as the Business Persons of the Year at the Black British Business Awards virtual ceremony on 07 October 2021.

These inspiring entrepreneurs immigrated to the UK from East Africa in 2007 and built their security, fire and facility management solutions company from scratch.

Winners revealed at regional business award

Infrastructure engineers Crown Highways have received the top prize at this year’s Sutton Coldfield, Lichfield & Tamworth and Cannock Chase Chambers of Commerce annual awards. Crown Highways, the winners of the Large Business of the Year award, received the award alongside eight additional category winners in a grand ceremony at the Drayton Manor Hotel, supported by returning headline sponsors Amazon.

Winners revealed at the Haringey Design Awards 2021

From a beautifully restored Muswell Hill house, in London, to an outstanding sustainable build in Tottenham, the winners of the Haringey Design Awards 2021 were announced at the Alexandra Palace Theatre. 

The Green House was the big winner on the night, scooping the ‘Best House’ and ‘Sustainable Building’ awards, as well as the ‘Overall Winner’ prize. The Green House is a new build in the Clyde Circus Conservation Area of Tottenham.

With more than $1b in assets two banks merge to form one of the largest in the U.S.

The CEOs of City First Bank in Washington, DC and Broadway Federal Bank in Los Angeles have decided to merge to create one of the largest in the US - and Black-led Minority Depository Institution (MDI) in the nation - with more than $1 billion in combined assets under management and approximately $850 million in total depository institution assets.
Brian E. Argrett, CEO of City First, will be CEO of the newly combined company, which will use City First as its banking brand but keep the publicly-traded Broadway Financial Corp (BYFC) as its bank holding company. Wayne-Kent A. Bradshaw, Broadway’s CEO, will be the chairman of the new company.

Combining the two institutions increases their collective commercial lending capacity for investments in multifamily affordable housing, small businesses, and nonprofit development in financially underserved urban areas while creating a national platform for impact investors.

Both banks have held a strong financial position as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and have a longstanding history of advancing economic and social equity through the provision of capital in low- to moderate-income communities. The combined institution will maintain its CDFI status, requiring it to deploy at least 60% of its lending into low- to moderate-income communities.

CDFIs help to close funding gaps, create jobs, expand critical social services, and spur equitable economic development with a mission to strengthen the overall well-being of vulnerable communities. Since the beginning of 2015, City First Bank and Broadway Federal Bank have collectively deployed over $1.1 billion combined in loans and investments in their communities.

The new institution will maintain bi-coastal headquarters and will continue to serve and expand in the banks’ current geographic areas, with a desire to scale to other high-potential urban markets. As a national bank, the combined entity intends to continue to operate under the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

WMCA agree £1.3bn investment in transport networks

More than 50 projects to improve road, rail, tram, bus, cycling and walking routes across the region have been agreed by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board. The list of preferred schemes will now be submitted to the DfT for final approval, after which the full list will be published.

The wide-ranging plans include more than 100km of new segregated cycle routes, 50km of bus lanes and priority measures, a new railway station at Aldridge and the UK’s first very light rail line in Coventry City Centre.

WMCA announces another landmark multi-million-pound investment to transform three more brownfield sites for new homes and jobs

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has confirmed a multi-million-pound investment package to kickstart the development of nearly 400 homes and new commercial premises at three derelict sites, supporting hundreds of jobs.

The brownfield regeneration schemes in Coventry, Nuneaton and Wolverhampton are the latest from the WMCA’s nationally acclaimed devolved housing and regeneration programme which, in partnership with industry, is providing new homes, jobs and commercial spaces while supporting the region’s economic recovery from the Covid pandemic.

WMCA announces second major investment to regenerate Corporation Street’s historic buildings

Work to regenerate and restore the faded glory of another Victorian building in Birmingham’s historic Corporation Street is to receive a £9.5m investment from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). The ornate Citadel building is being transformed into an eco-friendly hybrid mix of office, retail and social space, helping to bring new life and vitality to what had traditionally been the city’s premier shopping street. 

WMCA announces £7.5m investment to get more young people into high quality apprenticeships

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has announced a new £7.5m adult skills investment to help thousands more young people into apprenticeships.

WMCA Budget sets out major investments to drive economic growth deliver new homes and jobs and fight climate change

Funding for infrastructure, land regeneration and job training schemes to help drive the region’s post Covid-19 economic recovery and fight climate change has been set out in this year’s West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) budget.

A package of major transport projects to tackle air pollution and better connect people to jobs, education and training opportunities are included in a 2022/23 WMCA budget totalling £879.2m.

WMCA investment unlocks regeneration of historic building

Work to breathe new life into one of Walsall’s most historic and ornate buildings is set to go ahead thanks to an investment of more than £582,000 from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).