ICT Guide

Engaging Ethnic Minority Businesses in ICT
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A Guide for Enterprise Agencies
and Business Support Providers
CREME – De Montfort University
Dr. Martin Beckinsale & Prof. Monder Ram

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Outline Structure
1. Executive Summary p3
2. What is this guide for? P5
3. Low levels of engagement between ethnic minority
businesses and mainstream business support agencies
P6
4. How to engage with ethnic minority businesses: P7
o Identifying barriers P7
o Overcoming barriers: P8
 Questionnaires P8
 Outreach workers P8
 Awareness raising events P9
 ‘Exemplars’ P10
5. Low levels of ICT adoption amongst ethnic minority
businesses
P12
6. How to support ICT in ethnic minority businesses P14
7. Engaging ethnic minority businesses and local councils in
e-procurement
P18
8. Summary of Key Points P20
Appendix A: Example questionnaire to identify exemplars
Appendix B: Case studies / exemplars ICT Pilot
Appendix C: Case studies / exemplars E-Procurement Pilot

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1. Executive Summary
This guide is intended to help business support agencies to engage with
ethnic minority businesses and in particular to support them in the
development of information communication technology (ICT).
Based on research carried out over the past 6 years where numerous studies
have shown mainstream business support agencies not reaching many ethnic
minority businesses. Two pilot initiatives ran in Manchester and Lancashire in
2005. The initiatives were DTI funded through the North West Development
Agency and the Ethnic Minority Business Forum (EMBF). A Steering Group
that was business lead, supported by government intermediaries and
evaluated and guided by Academics (CREME – De Montfort University)
managed the pilots.
The pilot studies in Manchester and Lancashire identified three key barriers
facing minority businesses that wish to access business support.
 Finding out about services in the first place
 Language barriers
 Trust and credibility
The pilot studies also identified a number of useful tools which can be used by
business support agencies to engage with ethnic minority businesses, and
which help to overcome these barriers. Such tools include:
 Appropriate outreach workers
 Awareness raising events
 ‘Exemplars’ – local examples of good practice
There is a particular need to support ethnic minority businesses in the
development of ICT. Studies have shown a digital divide, with minority
businesses falling behind the rest of the business population in the adoption of
new technology. This means they’re missing out on potential benefits such
as:
 Better communication
 Better research
 Better Promotion
 New business opportunities, including e-procurement
By adapting their communication, marketing, and services mainstream
business support organisations can support ethnic minority businesses in the
development of ICT. The successful Manchester ICT pilot initiative delivers
some useful lessons. In particular it highlights the importance of using local
outreach workers who understand the community that you are trying to target,
and who are fluent in their languages.
Using similar techniques ethnic minority businesses can also be supported
into tendering for public sector contracts using the internet, or e-procurement
as the Lancashire e-procurement pilot initiative shows.
As the numerous case studies demonstrate, ethnic minority businesses can
greatly benefit from specific business support provided by mainstream

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business support agencies, if that support is marketed and delivered in a way
that is appropriate and accessible.

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2. What is this guide for?
This guide is intended to help business support agencies to engage with
ethnic minority businesses, and in particular to support them in the
development of ICT.
It is estimated that around 19% of all SMEs in the UK are owned and run by
ethnic minorities. Yet many of these businesses are missing out on the help
available from business support organisations. This guide looks at some
practical ways that mainstream business support organisations can engage
with ethnic minority businesses.
This guide also looks at information and communication technology (ICT).
Computers are a key part of most modern businesses. In fact ICT is seen as
so crucial that the government has supported numerous initiatives to
encourage businesses to make better use of it.
However businesses owned and run by ethnic minorities in this country have
fallen behind in their use of ICT. Numerous studies have shown a ‘digital
divide’. Furthermore many of the initiatives to support businesses in their use
of ICT are failing to reach ethnic minorities.
This digital divide is particularly significant when many public bodies carry out
their procurement activities using the web. Ethnic minority businesses are
then unable to tender for important contracts, and public bodies are potentially
missing out on the best suppliers.
This guide is designed to help your business support organisation in three
ways;
 Help you engage with ethnic minority businesses
 Help you support ethnic minority businesses in their use of ICT
 Help engage ethnic minority businesses and public bodies in the
development of e-procurement.
The guide is based on research carried out since 1999, but in particular on
two pilot studies carried out in Greater Manchester and Lancashire in 2005.
The Manchester ICT pilot initiative supported minority businesses in
Chinatown and Rusholme to improve their use of ICT. The Lancashire e-
procurement pilot initiative supported minority businesses and public sector
organisations in the North West to engage in e-procurement.
The guide draws together the lessons learnt; examples of good practice, and
makes practical suggestions that your business support organisation can
follow.

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3. Low levels of engagement between ethnic minority
businesses and mainstream business support
agencies
Many studies have shown that awareness of business support services, such
as the Chamber of Commerce and Business Link, is extremely low amongst
ethnic minority communities.
The Manchester ICT pilot initiative was a project to engage ethnic minorities in
ICT support. Before it started:
 only two of the business owners contacted had ever engaged with a
business support agency before
 no businesses in the two ethnic minority business communities were
members of the Chamber of Commerce.
 Business support was provided informally by friends and family, or in
Chinatown through the Chinese Trade Association.
As one business owner remarked,
“I didn’t know where the Chamber was … I have never engaged with any
formal business support like this before”
(Great Wall Chinese Restaurant, Business Owner)
Yet by adopting different methods of advertising and delivering their business
services, mainstream agencies were able to reach and support ethnic minority
businesses successfully. In the pilot study
 All 20 ethnic minority businesses obtained a grant to support ICT
development
 25% went on to access other business support services for the first time
 50% chose to join the chamber of commerce.
The following sections will introduce the key lessons that have been learned
through past initiatives, and provide knowledge, tools and methods that could
be adopted in other initiatives in the future.

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4. How to engage with EMBs:
Studies have shown that business support organisations can provide an
effective service to ethnic minority businesses. However they first need to be
aware that their existing services may not be accessible.
The Manchester ICT pilot initiative and Lancashire e-procurement pilot
initiative identified three key barriers facing minority businesses that wish to
access business support.
 Finding out about services in the first place
 Language barriers
 Trust and credibility
Barriers
Finding out about services
The first challenge facing most ethnic minority business owners wanting
business support is that they don’t know it exists. The networks and methods
of marketing and communication used by most mainstream business support
agencies are not reaching ethnic minorities.
Language
There is also a problem of language. Marketing material, information and
advice is often not available in minority languages. If an ethnic minority
business owner is not confident in their use of English this could mean:
 They may not know about the services available
 They may not be able to understand the information available,
particularly if it uses complicated or technical language
 They may not have the confidence to ask for help
 They may not be able to fill in the required forms
Trust and credibility
A business support organisation may not appear to understand the particular
difficulties faced by an ethnic minority business, due for example to culture or
language. Or the organisation may not have an understanding of the particular
ethnic markets in which many minority businesses trade.
In this case the organisation has got to gain the trust of the minority business
population, and demonstrate its credibility.
Once these barriers have been recognised business support organisations
can put in place initiatives to engage minority businesses. The following tools
were particularly effective in the Manchester ICT pilot initiative and in the
Lancashire e-procurement pilot initiative.

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Some tools for engaging with minority businesses
Questionnaires
In the Manchester ICT pilot initiative, for instance, a questionnaire was
administered to 56 ethnic minority businesses for the purposes of
benchmarking ICT activity. This was necessary because ChamberLink, like
many other Business Links had very limited information on the local ethnic
minority business population. The questionnaire had three key benefits:
 Identified ethnic minority businesses in need of business support
 Identified what kind of business support they might need
 Made initial contact with ethnic minority businesses
As one ChamberLink official commented:
“We identified quite a few businesses not known to us historically through this
method.”
Outreach Workers
One of the most effective methods of reaching ethnic minority businesses is
through the use of outreach workers: people who understand the language
and culture of the target groups, and who can help to build a relationship
between the business support agency and the business owners.
Outreach workers were originally appointed in both the Manchester ICT pilot
and the Lancashire e-procurement pilot initiatives to overcome language
barriers. It was recognised that for business owners who may not be
completely comfortable in English, accessing business support could be
difficult.
However, the ability of the support workers to reach ethnic minority
businesses and to build trust turned out to be every bit as important as their
ability to speak the language of the business owners. It was noticeable, for
example, that Chinese firms used informal links as a means of sourcing
professional advice within the co-ethnic community. The outreach workers
were able to become part of that network and thereby link the community with
the mainstream business support services as well.
In order to be truly effective outreach workers should:
- Reflect the ethnic make up of the area / business population you are
targeting
- Be fluent in the required languages
- Understand the appropriate culture and business markets
- Come from the target area / community
- Engage informally before introducing businesses to more formal business
support
Looking again at the Manchester and Lancashire pilot initiatives, even once
the business owners had been introduced to mainstream business advisors,

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most continued to make contact through the outreach worker. The relationship
with the outreach worker aided the relationship with the advisor.
This was also evident in the discussions and completion of grant applications.
Many businesses needed:
 help in understanding the process of completion
 translation of the questions
 guidance in terms of ‘terminology’
However the outreach worker felt that if forms had been available in
appropriate minority languages it would have made the application process
easier, and reduced the time needed with an outreach worker.
Although the outreach workers in the pilot projects were specifically employed
to engage minority businesses in ICT support, the development of trust had
the added benefit of drawing ‘difficult-to-reach’ groups into the mainstream of
business support networks. Outreach workers were undoubtedly important in
helping to position ChamberLink as a resource for ethnic minority businesses.
“Every time our Outreach Worker comes in we get a benefit. ChamberLink is
able to help us with every aspect of our business, and should we need advice,
it will be the first place we call.”
(Pearl City, Business Owner)
Awareness raising events
Awareness-raising events have also proved important in drawing ethnic
minority businesses into both specific initiatives such as the ICT support
project, and also other business support activities.
Timing of these events is crucial. For example, many of the ethnic minority
businesses in Manchester are restaurants. And lunch time, late afternoon and
early evening are obviously critical times in the average working day of a
restaurant.
The success of the events in Manchester was largely due to the specific
knowledge of the outreach workers, and the specific marketing employed.
Awareness and marketing of the events did not use the usual channels
because Chinese business owners in Manchester did not engage with the
Chamber of Commerce or ChamberLink literature. Instead, it used:
o Outreach workers
o Local press
o Ethnic media
o Community organisations
At the Manchester events there were many enquiries from business owners
relating to the ICT initiative. Attendees took the opportunity to speak to
 business support officers,
 outreach workers
 ICT specialists

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A further outcome was the high level of interest in general business support.
Once again the importance of the outreach workers was emphasised. In the
case of the Chinese community, nearly all attendees chose to enquire through
the outreach worker.
Similar awareness raising events were held in Preston and Blackburn during
the pilot project to introduce ethnic minority businesses to e-procurement.
‘Exemplars’
‘Exemplars’ are businesses that can be used as examples of good practice
which similar businesses could learn from.
In the case of the ICT initiatives they were businesses that could promote the
benefits of ICT to other ethnic minority businesses.
Here exemplar firms that were ‘embedded’ in the local community were an
important spur to the involvement of locally based ethnic minority businesses.
Most of these had not accessed formal sources of business support before.
Exemplars were considered most credible when they were closely matched in
all aspects of the business, except the use of ICT. That way target business
owners could clearly see how adopting ICT might have a positive impact on
their business.
Ideally exemplars should be:
 From the same geographic area as the target business
 From the same ethnic community as the target business
 Similar
o Market sector
o Customer base
o Size
o Age
So, for example, in Chinatown in Manchester Wong Chu Chinese Restaurant
could learn from Little Yang Sing Chinese Restaurant, a local business of
similar size, ethnicity, and market sector.
The tools for engaging ethnic minority businesses outlined above can all be
used effectively on specific initiatives, such as the Manchester ICT pilot
initiative and the Lancashire e-procurement pilot initiative, as well as for
general business support.
Initiatives targeted at ethnic minority businesses also need to be apprised of
the key components of:
 awareness
 sensitivity
 credibility
 appropriate skills

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Awareness
Ethnic minority businesses are often reluctant to use formal sources of
business support. Hence, sufficient time and resources for contextually-
appropriate awareness-raising activities has to be built into programmes.
Organisations should change the way initiatives are promoted and businesses
are made aware of support opportunities to take account of ethnic minorities
Sensitivity
This needs to be accompanied by sensitivity to the cultural and business
milieu of the target firms.
Credibility
Ethnic minority businesses will also be mindful of the credibility of support
providers (both mainstream and specialist). All three criteria will require
attention if ethnic minority businesses are to be drawn into mainstream
business support networks. One way to do this is through outreach workers.
Another way is to engage with community leaders, especially respected
business owners, from target groups
Skills & Experience
Finally a mix of skills and competencies are required for the effective
implementation of ICT initiatives targeted at ethnic minority businesses.
Technical expertise needs to be supplemented with a broader knowledge of:
 business support
 cultural processes,
 niches within sectors,
 existing informal support networks
This knowledge base does not need to belong to one individual, or even one
organisation, but does need to be integrated, and accessible to ethnic minority
businesses if the initiative is to be successful.
As section 5 explains, it is extremely important that business support
organisations do support ethnic minority businesses in their use of ICT.

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5. Low levels of ICT adoption amongst EMBs
Various studies have shown a lower adoption rate of ICT amongst ethnic
minority businesses compared to the small business population as a whole.
In 2002 Foley and Ram looked at the proportion of businesses with internet
access. They found only:
 37% of micro ethnic minority businesses
compared to
 75% of micro non-Ethnic minority businesses
The Small Business Service (SBS) conducted a further survey in 2004. This
noted a slightly smaller gap relating to internet access. However they found
ICT use by ethnic minority businesses was still mostly confined to lower level
functions such as the use of a PC for word processing or accounts.
In relation to website adoption, ethnic minority businesses were in low single
figures:
Chinese – 3.4%
Pakistani – 3.5%
Bangladeshi – 5.4%
This compared to website adoption by non-ethnic minority businesses of over
22%.
The recent pilot projects in Manchester and Lancashire, the Manchester ICT
pilot initiative and the Lancashire e-procurement pilot initiative back up this
research. In fact, although many firms in both communities had email, this did
not appear to be used for business purposes,
“We have email but communication with suppliers happens through fax and
phone. Email communication is not common.”
(Pearl City Restaurant, Business Owner)
“We have email available but our suppliers and customers don’t communicate
in that way.”
(Eastern Gold, Business Owner)
This digital divide means that many ethnic minority businesses are missing
out on the benefits that technology can bring. Benefits such as:
 efficiency arising from improved communication using e-mail
 effectiveness resulting from the ability to gather research and
competitor information
 promotion: the internet presents a modern image and improves SME
promotion
 new business opportunities through e-procurement and online
selling

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There are many barriers facing any business wishing to develop its ICT
systems. In Rusholme 60% of the ethnic minority businesses said that it was
a lack of ICT knowledge limiting their ICT adoption.
This is where business support services should be able to help.
By using the tools for engaging ethnic minority businesses outlined in section
4 mainstream business support agencies can help ethnic minority businesses
to understand the potential benefits of ICT for their business, and help them
access the support they need to develop appropriate ICT.
The following section looks at how this was done in the Manchester ICT pilot
initiative, and draws some useful lessons that can be applied to other
initiatives helping to develop ICT in ethnic minority businesses.

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6. How to support ICT in ethnic minority businesses
The tools outlined in section 4 were all used effectively in the Manchester ICT
pilot initiative to promote ICT to ethnic minority businesses. That is:
- An initial questionnaire to identify ethnic minority businesses who could
benefit from the project and possible ‘exemplars’
- Outreach workers fluent in the required languages and from the
appropriate communities
- Awareness raising events targeted at appropriate ethnic minority
businesses
By using the Manchester ICT pilot initiative as an example, important lessons
can be drawn which can help ensure the success of similar initiatives in the
future.
In the Manchester ICT pilot initiative, once businesses were engaged with the
project there were three further stages:
- Identifying exemplars
- Using an e-business advisor and accessing an ICT grant
- Using a ‘solution provider’ such as a web designer
Of course not all businesses wished to be engaged with. Non-participants
suggested that a lack of perceived benefit and time constraints as the main
reasons for remaining outside of the initiative.
For example, one Chinese business owner commented,
“ICT will not be of great benefit to the business.”
(Wong Chu Chinese Restaurant);
Whilst a Rusholme business owner remarked
“I just don’t have the time to get involved given the day to day running of the
business.”
However, by using outreach workers, and examples of local businesses which
were benefiting from ICT (exemplars), it was possible to overcome this idea
that ICT would not be of great benefit, or was not worth investing the time.
They demonstrated clearly to target businesses that ICT was something that
could work for them.
Furthermore, the experiences of the 20 firms that did engage with the initiative
were overwhelmingly positive. It was evident that the project addressed a
‘latent need’ amongst this group of ethnic minority businesses for
appropriately targeted business support.

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‘Exemplars’
The exemplars, similar businesses that could provide examples of good
practice in ICT, were crucial to demonstrating the value of ICT to the ethnic
minority businesses who took part in the Manchester ICT pilot initiative.
Different exemplars were needed for:
- different levels of ICT adoption
- different business characteristics
- different ways of benefiting from ICT
In order to identify which businesses could act as exemplars the outreach
workers completed questionnaires which looked at a variety of business
characteristics. The questionnaire had two sections:
General attributes:
 age of business
 market served
 customer breakdown
 ethnicity of owner
 etc. etc.
Use of ICT
 website
 e-mail
 e-procurement
 online selling
 etc. etc.
Using this information it is then possible to identify if the business:
- is representative,
- is an exemplar
- has added value which could be realised by other ethnic minority
businesses in the community;
The questionnaire used in the Manchester ICT pilot initiative is included at the
back of this guide in Appendix A. You can use this as a model, or adapt it to
suit the needs of your own initiative.
Once exemplars had been identified they could then be used to show other
minority businesses in the area how they might benefit from better use of ICT.
The questionnaire also highlighted areas of ICT with which businesses
needed specific help such as:
 how to make best use of an existing website;
 marketing the business better online;
 ways to improve business processes through ICT.

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However more than 83% of businesses in Chinatown were unsure what advice they
needed. This suggests a strong need for minority businesses to understand how
they might benefit from ICT, which again is where exemplars can be so useful.
E-business Advisors
Once exemplars had been identified the ethnic minority businesses needed
some expert advice on how ICT developments could benefit their particular
business.
At this stage the outreach workers introduced minority business owners to E-
business advisors. The e-business advisors, with the help of the outreach
workers, helped the business owners to draw up a plan for improving the ICT
in their business.
It was important that these plans were appropriate for the individual business
based on the business type, owners’ skills, customer base, etc., rather than
assuming that all businesses need to develop the same ICT solutions.
The outreach workers also helped the business owners to apply for grants to
implement that plan.
Solution Providers
Companies that could provide appropriate ICT solutions, such as web
designers, software specialists and so on, were short-listed by the business
support agency. Each minority business was then introduced to at least two
different companies and given the option of engaging them with the help of
the grant.
To ensure potential problems with the engagement of business owners and
ebusiness advisors were introduced to business owners in a more informal
setting prior to formal engagement.
Once again, the outreach workers were essential. They helped to:
 develop the relationship between the minority business and the solution
provider,
 clarify what was wanted by the minority business owner,
 clarify what information was needed by the solution provider.
Falcon Express Travel is one business that has already seen quantifiable
benefits including an 85% communication cost saving reducing the spend
from approximately £10000 to £1500.

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Engagement Activity Summarised
Manchester ICT pilot initiative
The outreach workers played a crucial role in:
 Engaging with ethnic minority businesses originally
 Administering the questionnaire to identify ICT support needs and
exemplars
 Building trust and explaining the benefits of adopting ICT
 Building a relationship between the ethnic minority business owners
and the e-business advisors
 Building a relationship between the ethnic minority business owners
and the e-solution providers
The Manchester ICT pilot initiative certainly met its objectives of engaging
ethnic minority businesses in ICT:
 All 20 ethnic minority businesses obtained a grant to support ICT
development
 90% of businesses in the pilot engaged an e-business advisor
 55% of businesses discussed solutions with a recommended e-
solutions provider
 25% of businesses used recommended provider to develop solution
The pilot project had the added benefit of building a relationship between
ethnic minority businesses and mainstream support services:
 25% went on to access other business support services for the first
time
 50% chose to join the chamber of commerce
The Lancashire e-procurement pilot initiative
The Lancashire e-procurement pilot initiative aimed to take a further step
towards bridging the digital divide between ethnic minority owned businesses
and other small businesses. This looked at the issues of e-procurement, and
the fact that many ethnic minority businesses are unable to tender for
contracts with public sector bodies and many large organisations because
they do not have the ICT capacity or appropriate knowledge.
This is another area where mainstream business support services can add
tremendous value to local minority businesses, as shown in section 7.

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7. Engaging ethnic minority businesses and local
councils in e-procurement
Procurement involves searching for suppliers, negotiating contracts, and
ordering goods or services. Enabling the procurement process through ICT is
defined as e-procurement. This is a key aspect of almost any business-to-
business e-commerce.
There is a broad range of technologies identified to support and enable e-
procurement. Technologies range from basic email to more complex
arrangements such as extranets and electronic marketplaces.
One of the most serious inclusiveness issues facing government procurement
offices today is the minority business owners’ digital divide.
As many businesses tap the promise of the Internet, minority entrepreneurs
are struggling to harness the power of computers, information technology and
e-commerce
The national Office of Government Commerce (OGC) e-procurement project
has been set up to encourage public bodies to procure more efficiently using
online technology. So it is crucial, if minority businesses are not to be left
further behind, that business support services enable them to engage in e-
procurement.
Benefits of E-Procurement
There are many reasons why the Government is encouraging public bodies to
look at e-procurement. Some of the benefits experienced can include:
 savings in the time taken to undertake procurement
 reduction in possible errors
 reduction in pricing
 staff savings
 reduction in overheads or ‘knock-on costs’
 improved flexibility and control
 closer relationships
In the North West, for example, councils have begun to engage in e-
procurement on the basis of the OGC guidelines. Although some ethnic
minority businesses had engaged with councils through e-procurement,
generally the awareness of tendering for council work was extremely limited.
Councils tend to ‘play safe’ and approach existing suppliers first.
The Lancashire e-procurement pilot initiative was developed to help ethnic
minority businesses to engage in e-procurement with local councils.
Just as in the Manchester ICT pilot initiative, many ethnic minority businesses
were not aware of the opportunities available to them. This time it was a
limited awareness of local council procurement activities.
Once again there were also barriers of language, capacity and trust.

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To overcome these barriers the same tools were used in this pilot as in the
Manchester ICT pilot initiative.
Outreach Workers
In the Lancashire e-procurement pilot initiative it was not necessary to employ
new outreach workers as there were already good links to the local ethnic
minority business communities through specific ethnic minority business
support networks such as ABF and BwDBC’s Business Resource Centre.
However, once again the use of these outreach workers was crucial to the
success of the initiative.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire used in the Manchester ICT pilot initiative was adapted to
fulfil two purposes:
 to identify possible exemplars of local ethnic minority businesses that
were engaging in e-procurement
 to identify ethnic minority businesses that might be able to benefit from
e-procurement
Awareness raising events
Once again awareness raising events were held. This time the purpose the
events was to show how simple e-procurement with local councils could be.
All the business required was an internet connection and an email account.
The events also showed the benefits of engaging in e-procurement.
The events also included the e-procurement platform provider Vantage
(Lloyds TSB), to explain how the particular e-procurement system used by
councils in the North West, “The Roses Marketplace”, would work for them.
E-solution provider
The final phase of the pilot involved engaging the e-solution providers,
Vantage and Business Link, to implement the e-procurement solution with the
identified ethnic minority businesses. The process quite simply involved each
business providing Vantage with an electronic list of stock items and pricing
structures. Vantage then did the rest.
All the ethnic minority businesses engaged are now part of “The Roses
Marketplace”.
E-procurement conclusion
Ethnic minority businesses are missing out on the opportunities presented by
e-procurement. However by utilising the tools and methods presented in this
guide business support agencies are able to reach ethnic minority businesses,
and support them to take part in e-procurement activities.

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8. Summary of Key Points
Numerous studies show mainstream business support agencies are not
reaching many ethnic minority businesses.
The pilot studies in Manchester and Lancashire identified three key barriers
facing minority businesses that wish to access business support.
 Finding out about services
 Language
 Trust / credibility
In particular, the literature used by mainstream business support agencies to
market their services or events does not reach ethnic minority businesses.
The pilot studies also identified a number of useful tools which can be used by
business support agencies to engage with ethnic minority businesses and
overcome those barriers. These include:
 Appropriate outreach workers
 Awareness raising events
 ‘Exemplars’ – local examples of good practice
The outreach workers in particular were crucial to successfully engaging with
and supporting ethnic minority businesses. They need to:
 Reflect the ethnic make up of the area / business population you are
targeting
 Be fluent in the required languages
 Understand the appropriate culture and business markets
 Come from the target area / community
Exemplars - that is local, contextually appropriate examples of good practice -
were also crucial to demonstrate how ICT could actually benefit target
businesses.
By employing the tools and techniques suggested in this guide mainstream
business support services can engage with ethnic minority businesses, and
enable them to develop appropriate ICT capability.

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Appendix A:
The Exemplar Questionnaire
‘Exemplars’ are local businesses that can be used as examples of good
practice to encourage similar businesses to adopt new methods of working.
For example businesses that are benefiting from the use of ICT can be used
to explain to similar local businesses how they may be able to benefit.
Ideally exemplars should be:
 From the same geographic area as the target business
 From the same ethnic community as the target business
 Similar:
o Market sector
o Customer base
o Size
o Age
So, for example in Chinatown in Manchester Wong Chu Chinese Restaurant
could learn from Little Yang Sing Chinese Restaurant, a local business of
similar size, ethnicity, and market sector.
The process for identifying exemplars is:
 Carry out a questionnaire survey using an adapted version of the
questionnaire below.
 Categories the businesses by general attributes
 See whether each of the businesses has particular examples of good
practice and could be used as an exemplar
 Match possible exemplars with businesses sharing similar general
attributes

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Example Questionnaires
– used in the Manchester ICT pilot initiative
General Attribute Questions (Used to Categorise Businesses)
 How old is the firm i.e. when was it founded?
 How many employees are there?
 Is growth important to the business? Existing products / services or
New products / services & Existing markets or New markets
 What market/industry/sector are you in? Local/Regional/UK/Global
Market?
 What are your products/services?
 Share of market/number of customers?
Examples of good practice (Used to Identify Exemplars)
Examples of good practice
Is ICT seen as important to the business?
 If Yes - Why is this so? (e.g. growth, nature of industry/market/sector)
 What were the drivers for ICT development?
Do they have email communication?
 How is email used within the business?
 How many employees are engaged in email/online business
processes?
Has the business interacted with Government initiatives prior to this
project?
 If yes with which initiatives and what were the outcomes if any?
Did any difficulties/issues/problems arise from the intervention?
 What were the benefits?
Does the business have a website?
 If yes what is the purpose of the website? Web address http://www.
 How was it developed?
Does it achieve the business objectives?
 If yes in what way? If no why?
 Evidence of this?
Is the business engaged in ICT use in relation to any of the following
 Email between your business and a buyer
 Email between your business and a supplier
 Requisition and authorisation documents related to purchasing
activities available electronically
 EDI – Electronic Data Interchange or XML
 Integrated purchase ordering and accounting systems (may involve
ERP systems)
 Electronic Payment Systems
 Extranets
 Electronic Marketplaces
If yes - have they proved to be beneficial to the business?
Do they engage in Internet sales either buying through the internet for

23
the business or selling business products/services online?
 What have been the benefits of this?
 What impact has this had on the business?
 Why was the Internet seen as important for buying and selling?
 How was this achieved (e.g. Other government initiatives, in-house
developments, IT investment through third parties).
Has the business engaged in procurement activities such as tendering
for contracts e.g. RFQs
 If yes what was the activity and the benefits?
 Where there any difficulties/problems?
Have you engaged in any e-procurement activity
 If yes any with local councils?
 What form does/has that activity take(n) e.g. e-marketplace, e-
tendering, e-auction or spot sourcing

24
Appendix B: Case Studies / Exemplars ICT Pilot
Pearl City Restaurant
ICT Use Prior to Initiative: No
The restaurant was established in 1993 and employs 30 staff. Pearl City continued
to serve the local population of Chinatown and Manchester. The business had been
owner managed by the same owner for almost 3 years. The majority of staff had
limited English Language skills or ICT skills.
“We have email but communication with suppliers happens through fax and phone.
Email communication is not common. We are considering email communications
with customers possibly relating to enquiries and table bookings.”
(Pearl City, Business Owner)
As stated by the business owner, ‘I had the idea of a business website in back of
mind for some time’. The initiative offered an opportunity to realise this idea offering
support to get underway but also limiting the time needed to focus on the work.
“The Manchester ICT pilot initiative offered instant help and an impartial information
service. Without it I might have struggled to get the information” (Pearl City,
Business Owner)
As well as help with ICT, the business also benefited from other business advice. In
both cases the outreach worker was crucial.
“I definitely gained more general business advice and this advice would have been
limited without the outreach worker.’ (Pearl City, Business Owner)
After discussions with the ebusiness advisor, the owner decided to begin the
process of web site development. The initial discussions made it clear that the
owner wished to move forward in small steps with the development being a long
term investment.
A decision was made to make the site a simple ‘brochureware’ type site which
would be marketed trough traditional channels i.e. business cards and local
advertising in Chinese press. The owner then planned to evaluate the site and
consider the next stage of development, possibly with the help of Chamberlink, the
mainstream business support agency. (NB. the website developed is
http://www.pearlcityrestaurant.co.uk)
Prior to the Manchester ICT pilot initiative business support agencies were rarely
accessed. The majority of advice was through friends and family or the Chinese
Trade Association.

25
Yang Sing Limited
ICT Use Prior to Initiative: Yes (Website)
Website: http://www.yang-sing.co.uk
The Yang Sing was established in 1977 and is one of the most established and well
known restaurants in Chinatown. This was the largest of all businesses engaged
with employing 100 staff.
Director and general manager of Yang Sing, was a former president of The Greater
Manchester Chamber of Commerce. As a result he was unusual amongst the
business owners that engaged with the Manchester ICT pilot initiative. He was
already familiar with the benefits that Business Link and other business services,
could bring to a business.
The Yang Sing also had one of the most comprehensive web sites of any of the
Chinese restaurants in Chinatown prior to the pilot. This is a relative comparison
given the low website adoption and use in the community. The website was flash
based but at the time of the initiative, was little more than a ‘brochureware’ or
marketing site.
The Yang Sing’s broader use of ICT also included email to communicate with
suppliers, invoicing suppliers and some e-procurement activity.
The owner recognised the fact that maintaining an up-to-date web presence is an
important part of marketing the business to as wide an audience as possible.
“If you look at the current patronage of my Yang Sing restaurant, it tends to be the
older, successful businessmen and women – the Internet probably isn’t as important
to them. However, to the up and coming executives, it is of the utmost importance
and is possibly the first place they will look when deciding where to dine. (Yang
Sing, Director)
“In order to ensure we remain competitive, we need to inform our clientele
effectively, i.e. via a Website, otherwise we will start to fall behind the competition.
It’s time to be eWare!” (Yang Sing, Director)
However, the Yang Sing website was out-of-date and in need of some significant
work. The owner saw the opportunity of ChamberLink’s support and took advantage
of the eBusiness advice to help refresh the site resulting in a modern look and feel,
and altogether slicker web presence.
“In order to ensure we remain competitive, we need to keep our clientele informed
of our offers and ensure they keep on coming back. The ideal tool for this is via a
Website.” (Yang Sing, Director)
In the medium term there was a recognition that the website would need to be
developed further. Eventually adding ecommerce functionality and allow people to
book online. The potential to harness the power of the Internet by undertaking some
specific emarketing campaigns, for which the website will play an integral part.
“People are able to buy their groceries, books, gifts, holidays and clothes online – I
want people to be able to access my restaurants in just the same way,” The owner
concluded.

26
Wing Fat Supermarket
The Wing Fat Supermarket is a jointly owned business by a husband and wife team.
Trading began in 1986 and has stuck to the same business plan for the past 19
years. The supermarket operates as a wholesaler and retailer offering delivery in
the North West. 90% of produce is sourced from the Far East and it is a one-stop
shop for takeaway use.
As stated by one of the owners: ‘the key differentiator is supplying authentic Far
East products’. The owners were not completely sure of how many products they
stocked but it was at least 2000 including sauces, spices and fresh squid to
cookware.
Official promotion techniques have never been engaged in. The business had relied
on its established reputation and word of mouth. The business has no competition in
the North West region.
The outreach worker in Chinatown engaged with the owners at the early stages of
the Manchester ICT pilot initiative identifying a strong desire to develop ICT.
“We wanted to improve our business productivity, and a lot of our clientele are IT
savvy, that means that we can reach them, and others like them with a website,”
(Wing Fat, Owner)
A meeting between the business owners and web designers was held mid April.
The outreach worker played a crucial role in helping to overcome language
difficulties. Importantly, the outreach worker was able to help clarify terms in the
appropriate language and discuss questions in Cantonese the owners.
The expectation of the business owner was that the web-site would include opening
times, online map, contact details and product information. The web designer
presented a realistic view of the benefits of the web-site and suggested that this
should be viewed as a ‘stepping stone to future developments’. However, on
completion of the site and with relatively limited marketing some changes have been
observed.
“Already, I have seen results,” “We have started to see more business coming
through our doors – which is fantastic, as that is just the desired effect!” (Wing Fat,
Owner)
Wing Fat plan to make the most of its new found Internet presence, by further
emarketing activity and also developing the site further, to be an ecommerce
website, allowing customers to purchase goods online. (NB. website address
http://www.wingfat.co.uk)
“We are taking it all a step at a time, but the website has opened a whole new door
of potential customers, and I can see that this is the future of retail business to some
extent,” (Wing Fat, Owner)

27
Sanam Sweet House
Sanam Sweet House and Restaurant, based on Rusholme’s curry mile, was
established more than 35 years ago. It employs 9 staff and serves traditional Indian
sweets.
Sanam’s Managing Director describes how he wanted to grow this side of the
business.
“We wanted to increase the customer base for the sweets, and to do this we had to
start working smarter.”
Sanam, prior to the Outreach Worker literally ‘knocking on the door’ and raising
awareness of the pilot, had no IT support to speak of. They were very interested in
how the Manchester ICT pilot initiative could help it to grow its Sweet House
business.
“The restaurant is very well established, but we really needed to create more
awareness about our Sweet House business as this is still relatively new. To be
more competitive we really needed to look at our IT requirements.” (Sanam Sweet,
House Owner)
To take the first step on the DTI adoption ladder the ebusiness advisor advised
Sanam Sweet House to upgrade its personal computers first. This activity, utilising
the Manchester ICT pilot initiative for both information and knowledge led to an
investment purely in hardware.
The development gave rise to a number of quick wins and benefits to the business
through ICT without, at the stage of the pilot, developing a web site. The new
hardware and software purchased has enabled the company to work much more
effectively. Sanam Sweet House now has far more accurate records of stock,
ordering and accounts. This, in turn, has given rise to better supply chain
management and integration of information shared by the individual business units.
“The sweets side of the business is now much more successful – the advice and
funding from ChamberLink has helped our operations including the restaurant. It
has resulted in improved processes, and this is only the first step!” (Sanam Sweet,
House Owner)
With continued support from ChamberLink, the owner plans to develop an
ecommerce website enabling him to sell his products online and reach a much
wider customer base. (NB. as of January 2007 the business has an online store
front – http://www.sanamsweethouse.com)
“This experience has really encouraged and enlightened us as to the benefits of
good IT systems. Next we will be looking at introducing an ecommerce website,
which will be capable of online ordering.” (Sanam Sweet, House Owner)

28
Eastern Gold
Eastern Gold is a fifth generation Asian jeweller based in Rusholme, Manchester,
where they have been trading for nearly 20 years. The owner manager, a sole
trader, has come under intense market pressure in the last 10 years from the
saturation of Asian jewellers in the market place as well as the non-Asian high street
jewellers such as H Samuels.
Eastern Gold designs and produces fine jewellery, most of it is handmade and also
makes bespoke jewellery at the customer’s request. It supplies to the luxury end of
the market. The jewellery is of both Eastern and Western influence, so appeals to a
wide audience.
The relationship with the owner of this Jewellery business began very slowly. The
outreach worker stated ‘the owner was cold initially’. However persistence and a
number of discussions regarding the initiative and the role of the Chamber slowly
led to a relationship developing.
The company had thought seriously about a website for some time, but had
struggled to find the right people and the costs were prohibitive. This relationship
with the Outreach Worker gave Eastern Gold the confidence needed to revisit its
website idea.
“ChamberLink was able to recommend professional consultants that I felt had my
business interests as their priority. I wanted to work with a consultant that was more
services focussed rather than business focussed.” (Eastern Gold, Owner)
After comparing websites from competitors and peers, the owner hit upon a formula
that he felt met the image he wanted to portray online. Ultimately, Easterngold did
not use any of the solution providers offered through the pilot. Although discussions
with them did assist the owner in solidifying his ides for the site. After significant
consultation the owner engaged with a website designer to produce the website that
he aspires to.
“I call it my magic formula! I wanted to find someone that I could trust, who would
listen to what I needed and what my business requires. I have finally got that – and
without having to pay the earth!” (Eastern Gold, Owner)
Eastern Gold’s website was still under construction, December 2006, but is well on
the way to being completed and launched. The site will be a direct marketing
ecommerce website, allowing customers to purchase jewellery over the Internet and
receive the goods on their doorstep within a ‘couple of days’. There are some
changes that need to be finalised before this happens. For example, the company
name. The owner felt that this needed to be more European to appeal to all target
groups and ethnicities.
Eastern Gold continued to work with ChamberLink advisers. In the future, the owner
would like to develop the website further to include a trade portal. The owners’
awareness of the critical issues that are faced by any small or micro firm when
considering an online venture. These issues included: scalability – can they deliver
on the promise especially if the site is successful; and how do you ensure that
customers return as they may do on the high street.

29
Rolex Books (Four Corners)
ICT Use Prior to Initiative: Yes (Full Online Ecommerce)
Website: http://www.simplyislam.com
Rolex Books (Four Corners) began selling Islamic books to the Islamic community.
It first began trading in 1962 from its origins in Bradford and was the very first
Islamic/Asian bookshop in the UK. It imports goods from Turkey, Dubai, South
Africa, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong and it has its own offices in Pakistan.
In November 2001 Rolex Books began to trade online as Simplyislam.com. The
online store offers a broad range of Islamic products everything from books, tapes
and CDs, to clothing and Muslim toothbrushes.
The business owner was a second generation son of the Rolex Books owner and
educated to degree level in Computer Science. The businesses although based on
the same premises trade as separate organisations. Importantly, SimplyIslam.com’s
market went beyond the local community selling globally with its largest market,
outside the UK, being the US.
The owner was very clear about his reasons for the business and its continued
development and evolution. The ICT developments that simplyislam.com had
undertaken in the past focussed on software, but at the expense of the necessary
hardware. When they engaged with the Manchester ICT pilot initiative the
equipment was out-of-date, and not really capable of dealing with the volume of
sales that the business was turning over. The IT system had everything attached to
it, the printers, Internet etc. If anything failed, employees had to stop working.
The pilot provided a funding opportunity to move hardware development and
improvements along more rapidly.
“The IT system we had was adequate, but in need of updating, and security was
negligible – which was dangerous when you consider we are transacting online,”
(Simply Islam, Business Owner).
“We work with an online Internet payment service provider, which deals with all the
payments for the goods, but our customer database, and access to our products is
vital to our trading. If we lose data, it would be very damaging to our bottom line.”
(Simply Islam, Business Owner)
The owner was responding to all customer queries himself and, at the time of the
initiative, had not put in place automated email updates. A very time consuming
activity which if the business continues to grow, at its current rate, the more difficult
the personal service delivery will be. Also, the suppliers are not fully, e-procurement
automated. There is some spot sourcing e-procurement but traditional purchasing
methods are the norm due to suppliers not being ready. The significant majority of
these suppliers also being EMBs.
The business has the potential for further back-office ICT developments.
There was a limited relationship in terms of engagement and ICT development with
this business. Because of the knowledge of the Business Owner there was no need,
on the part of the owner, to engage with an ebusiness advisor or solution provider.
However, the business was viewed as an ICT exemplar.

30
Appendix C: Case Studies / Exemplars E-
Procurement Pilot
Tile Mart (E-Procurement Pilot)
ICT Use Prior to Initiative: Yes (Internal Processes and Website)
Website: http://www.tilemart.co.uk
Tile Mart was founded in 1994 and employed 32 staff to provide customers with
possibly the North West largest selection of wall and floor tiles. Since 2002, the
company had been internally developing its use of ICT to support the businesses
processes, providing efficiencies, reducing overheads and supporting the customer.
Therefore, initially email was installed internally and systems were put in place to
undertake accounts and stock control. The business then developed, utilising third
party web developers, a website (www.tilemart.co.uk) to aid the marketing of Tile
Mart and with the potential to sell online.
Tile Mart’s Business Development Manager, with the support of the business owner,
had driven the developments. The decision to develop ICT was focused around
clear strategic intents including co-ordination and markets (Levy et al, 2003).
Tile Mart was one of the first EMBs in Preston to get involved in the pilot. The
reasons were: strong links with business support (Business Link) in the region; and
potential strategic benefits.
‘This is an opportunity to good to miss. There is low risk and if in a year no business
has been secured Tile Mart has lost relatively little.’ (Tile Mart, Business
Development Manager)
Possible e-procurement activity, prior to the pilot, had not been considered although
they had examined placing bids in local council regeneration projects and had bid
and won a contract with Preston North End Football Club.
The pilot required limited ICT (email and web access only) by the participating firms.
Tile Mart had previously developed ICT well in excess of the requirements plus, had
a level of skills and knowledge of the potential that ICT could provide the business.
The Business Development Manager was trained in accountancy packages and
stock control utilising Microsoft Excel thus providing them with the tools required to
make full use of the e-procurement system provided by Vantage through the Roses
Marketplace. It was also clearly stated that
‘There is no major investment in technology. The major investment is time, sorting
out our catalogue of products electronically, there after managing it appears to be
relatively simple.’ (Tile Mart, Business Development Manager)
Important to engaging with local councils and potentially securing e-procurement
contracts was the service and products that fit the council requirements. The
potential was identified early on by Tile Mart’s Business Development Manager
who, having had the opportunity to meet with council procurement managers, was
not planning to let the opportunity slip. Tile Mart is now able to bid for local council
contracts and sell and buy products and supplies online through the Roses
Marketplace.

31
Protectafile (E-Procurement Pilot)
ICT Use Prior to Initiative: Yes (Internal Processes and Online Selling)
Website: http://www.protectafile.co.uk
At the time of the pilot, Protectafile was one of a very small number of EMBs that
had engaged in purchasing and e-procurement activity with councils and public
bodies. Interestingly though the company had not engaged with any local
(Blackburn) public bodies.
Protectafile continues to be a specialist UK manufacturer of polythene files and
folders designed for all educational and health establishments. Founded in 1982
and with a workforce of five the company supplies over 6000 educational institutions
and for this reason was viewed as a potential exemplar for the e-procurement pilot.
As stated by the Business Owner:
‘The majority of schools purchase direct, however, the one interesting thing about it
is that some also go through the local authority, therefore the council procure the
items on behalf of the school. So, there is an e-procurement link between the
council and this particular business.’
The companies website (www.protectafile.co.uk) was setup in 2003. The owner
worked closely with the Asian Business Federation (ABF) and utilised eBusiness
UK, an EMB specialising in ICT/web development. By 2005 the website accounted
for 25% of orders. The site created enables online trading, a full e-procurement
system, and the ability to amend product offered. Although, Protectafile used third
parties to support ICT developments. The owner over the 3 year period also
developed his ‘non-existent’ ICT knowledge. As he stated
‘I engaged in the first Tuesday events, as well as the ICT training events over the
last 3 years held by the Blackburn Business Centre.’
Therefore he has made great use of that knowledge and understanding especially in
relation to strategic ICT considerations. One strategic objective being to expand
into Europe and increase UK market share. The online activity was viewed as a
channel to achieve this. Clearly, that has led to a very successful online EMB and
the e-procurement pilot was seen as a means to further this success and strategic
objective online.
The possibility to further engage with councils, especially locally, through the pilot
was viewed as ‘a strategic opportunity to enter new markets and extend the e-
procurement activity of the business.’ The Roses Marketplace would not be the first
portal to be utilised by Protectafile to advertise and market the business and its
products (see www.GBshops.net).
With existing ICT systems Protectafile was able to link into the Roses Marketplace
and utilise the ‘punch out’ function. The function allows local council procurers or
school buyers to link directly into the existing businesses website. Important, in the
success of Protectafile and its relationships with public bodies across the UK has
been the strategic vision of the Business Owner but also the nature of the product
which is perfectly suited to buyers in the public sector.

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