Doreen Lawrence attends graduation for MBA course launched in memory of son

Baroness Doreen Lawrence has taken part in the inaugural graduation ceremony for an MBA course launched in memory of her son.

The Master of Business Administration programme - known as MBA 30 - was established last year by SOAS University of London and the Black British Initiative to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's murder.

The qualification, which was conceived in partnership with the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, aims to address the challenges and disadvantages faced by aspiring Black entrepreneurs entering and operating in the world of business.

The programme will enrol at least 30 students per cohort - one for each year since Stephen Lawrence’s murder - with the first group of students now graduating after starting their course in September last year. The course was subsidised by companies including NatWest, Vodafone Business, Paramount Global, Freuds, Retail Trust and Clyde & Co.

The ceremony took place at SOAS, with Baroness Lawrence issuing graduation certificates to each successful entrepreneur. She was joined by Lord Dr Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick; Jess Neil, chief executive of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation; and Sharniya Ferdinand of NatWest.

The 44 graduates in the first cohort specialised in areas such as medical, legal, tech, design, fashion, retail, beauty, film, wellness, consultancy and advisory, coaching, PR and sport.

Among the students was Patrick Hutchinson - the personal trainer and children's coach, who received global attention when he carried an injured counter-protestor to safety during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London.

Darren Miller, founder and chief executive of Black British Initiative, said last year: “Entrepreneurs play a significant societal role and are a source of creativity, innovation and progressiveness in all commercial sectors.

"One of the greatest challenges facing Black entrepreneurs is a lack of access to essential business networks and funding capital, limiting aspiration, stunting growth, and preventing the deep reservoirs of Black entrepreneurial talent from being realised - wasteful and counterproductive for society at large.”

MBA 30 Cohort Five runs from September 9 to October 3, 2024, and is mostly online with the exception of two sessions which take place at SOAS, the University of London, Thornhaugh Street.