One of the largest and oldest Chambers
The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one of the UK’s oldest and largest Chambers. It has been offering services to industry and commerce for over two centuries and it currently represents nearly 4000 companies that employ over 300,000 people in Birmingham and Solihull.

Proactive and imaginative approach
The award was given to Birmingham Chamber of Commerce & Industry due to its proactive and imaginative approach to addressing and meeting the needs of diverse sectors within its community. Support to members is offered by the Chamber in the form of events, training and initiatives, particularly involving ethnic business communities and women in business. For the last few years Birmingham Chamber has been running a scheme called ‘Women Who?’, which is concerned with providing guidance and support to women who manage their own businesses. The events and networking opportunities that are provided through this scheme are proving to be extremely popular.

Recognition of a diverse community
Ivan Bird, Senior Operations Manager at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce & Industry said, “The Birmingham Chamber represents a very diverse membership and is constantly looking at ways in which to improve its service to ethnic minority business communities. The awards were a way of highlighting our initiatives to a wider audience and benchmarking ourselves against other Chambers.”

What the award meant to the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Winning the award for Increasing Diversity in Membership has strengthened the Chamber’s credibility within the ethnic minority business community. Ivan Bird commented, “It has given us recognition of our sustained efforts by a trusted third party.”

Life after the awards
Since winning the award, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce & Industry has continued its development of the Institute of Asian Businesses (IAB), as Asian businesses represent a growing business population both in terms of numbers and sectors in Birmingham. The Chamber has also developed a long term strategy to integrate ethnic businesses into mainstream membership without losing their cultural heritage and strengths.