At the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, I walked through the doors of Coutts to start a career that opened my eyes to a new world of possibilities. I came into Private Banking with nothing more than a strong ambition to succeed, and a desire to show others that a career in this field was possible for the many who never consider it as achievable.

Growing up I didn’t know the purpose or function of a Private Bank. I didn’t know any bankers or people working in the finance industry. The people I looked up to were those working in my local community. The men and women who worked tirelessly, often underfunded and underpaid to provide skills and opportunities to broaden our horizons. I didn’t quite know what I wanted to be when I was young, but I knew that I wanted to be someone who could offer a different perspective to people. Especially to those from disadvantaged backgrounds that are restricted from navigating the social economics that control their world. 

I come from a West African household, where money was rarely the topic of conversation whenever the family gathered. It felt culturally inappropriate to talk about money, but we were always encouraged to work hard to make enough of it, so we could have the life we wanted. We were reminded about the power and scarcity of it, but never taught about how to make, grow or preserve it. That was something we had to go into the world and discover for ourselves.

I realised that my experience was not unique when speaking with friends and colleagues in the Black community. For many people, the most memorable financial advice they received at home was ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’.  Five years into my banking career, I realised I had a perspective that could change that. A perspective that could help people from all walks of life to make better informed choices. That perspective was about understanding money, and what it means not just to be wealthy but to be able to create and grow wealth.

Wealth is a complicated, multi-faceted concept which can be as elusive as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it can be achieved, either by individual effort or as a community. The notion of growing wealth within the Black community is vital. There are many examples of minority groups combining resources to create an ecosystem that has a real impact on a micro and macro scale. 

Black Pound Day and creating Black wealth

Here in the UK the Black Pound Day was established following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. It was created to elevate and support Black-owned businesses in local communities. This initiative has been well received, but as I think about the wider potential that exists in the Black community, I feel we can do more. Imagine a scenario where the education system is better suited to our community, providing training programs that help prepare and place individuals into work and a network of experience and knowledge sharing that helps professionals to build contacts across industries.

The benefits of this are clear, not only for the Black community but for society as a whole. Entrepreneurs that are encouraged, guided and funded create businesses that receive backing and investment and which are given the space to reach their full potential. Growing wealth within the Black community requires intervention at all levels, but it fundamentally starts with knowledge, information and access. 

Black History Month

Coutts’ work around Black History Month recognises the importance of Black narratives in society, not only through history and the mistakes of historical trespass but also in understanding that in society it is very hard to be what we can’t see. As a bank and as a B Corp, we have that responsibility to guide individual prosperity at every level for the benefit of all society.

Most of us are attempting to become first generation wealth creators, and that in itself can be a huge undertaking. In addition to the anxiety that comes with these ambitions, is the very real task of navigating what can feel like ‘the rules of the game’. In 2013 I set out to become a voice in the community. First by speaking in schools, colleges and universities about financial literacy and offering an insight to what it takes to build wealth. Then by becoming a mentor and guiding students through their career decisions and how to build personal brands.

The Urban Financier

Given the demand I received for mentoring, I launched my social media platform The Urban Financier which started as a blog then an Instagram page to educate and inform the community about money and financial literacy. I wanted to provide a perspective that is often unseen or unavailable to minority communities. Today I have a community of 29,000 followers on Instagram which includes some of the most prominent figures across sport, entertainment and business.

Social media has been a great way to reach out and establish a guiding voice around wealth in the Black community and beyond. In an informal way I’ve been able engage directly with a diverse audience of young professionals, students and potential entrepreneurs as well as anyone simply interested in learning more about investing and what prudent personal finance should look like.

Much of it has been educational as too many young potential investors can get side-tracked, and then disillusioned, by too-good-to-be-true phenomena such as cryptocurrencies. Showing how personal wealth is achievable and how it can provide security for the future, is so important for all of us as individuals but especially for those coming from disadvantaged spaces, a circumstance that can disproportionately affect young Black and ethnic minority individuals.

Building wealth in the Black community will continue to need a coming together of expertise. Equipping those with influence with the tools to educate and inform others, creating networks that can facilitate discussions that some of us were not able to have whilst growing up. It’s about rebuilding foundations, and reimagining what’s possible, a boundless vision of economic prosperity.