Settlement Support Community Interest Company (SSCIC) has been launched in Coventry in the United Kingdom.

The organisation seeks to empower Black and Minority Ethnic and other disadvantaged immigrants with information and services needed for settlement and real integration into British society.

Notably, the organisation has been organising among others a quarterly Skills Development Webinar with the objective to empower the targeted minority youth with the skills and information to acquire meaningful employment and careers and for them to climb the career ladder.

Also significant is the residency information forums which was initiated to provide critical and timely immigration and residence related information to the targeted beneficiaries.

Moreover, having recognised that settlement involves understanding of the financial system and the prudent management of financial resources, the Financial Independence for Minorities’ project was initiated to provide support for African, black and minorities to efficiently manage their financial resources and to ensure financial progress in the United Kingdom.

Beyond that, the organisation also seeks to establish partnerships with government, civil society and corporate bodies to initiate projects to support Africa’s sustainable development efforts and agenda. Top among this agenda is the African Mastermind Project and the Girls in STEM (Science Maths, Engineering and Maths) project.

The Girls in STEM project is another stimulating project SSCIC has started garnering partnerships to fully implement.

The project is under the Black and African Mastermind Programme conceived to encourage and promote STEM among Minorities, especially black Africans and women. The project seeks to encourage STEM among the targeted group to tackle global challenges in the areas of health, food security, employment creation and sustainability.

SSCIC by this project, envisions to create a platform for girls and women empowerment in fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal 5.

The project will enable girls of black origin in the UK and girls from Africa (Ghana and Nigeria to start with) who are willing to pursue a study in a STEM field at the master’s level, to benefit from a scholarship from identified stakeholders and partners to pursue a fully-funded master’s programme.

The girls as part of their qualification would be required to propose an implementable project and to return to their communities and countries to undertake these projects that will positively impact society.

There has been an initial partnership agreement with ShecreatesAfrica and there are discussions with the School of Engineering at Coventry University to become one of the host universities.

The main speaker at the launch, Mr. Marvelous Onwukamike, board member of Amazon Black Employment Network was full of excitement and praise for the initiatives being promoted by the organisation.

He acknowledged how timely the activities of the organisation will resolve issues of concern for the black and minority community. He mentioned how the entry of SSCIC through Byron Nana Taylor into Amazon’s maiden BENtastic award enriched the competition.

The declaration of the entry as the winner out of 586 entries across 25 Amazon sites across the UK for him, is evidence of the remarkable work the team is doing.

In introducing the leadership of the organisation, Mr. Byron Nana Taylor a business consultant and a social entrepreneur appreciated the collective competence, commitment and contribution of the team to the progress of the organisation.

The team include Kofi Folson, an enterprise business development and Information Technology, (IT) consultant who is co-founder. Dr. Eno Maycock is currently the director of MBA programmes at Coventry University. Babajide Olusoga, health and safety specialist at Amazon UK services.

Anabell Owusu, a senior human resource professional, Oluwatosin Oloruntoba, a trainer at Amazon, with expertise in human capital development. Solicitor Michella Dadson, a solicitor, Abigail Owusu-Ansah, a psychology graduate and currently a student in mental health nursing at the University of Northampton and Prince Charles Baiden a graphic designer.

A solidarity message to support the initiatives of SSCIC was read on behalf of SheCreatesAfrica by Dr. Eno Maycock.

SSCIC has won funding from the United Kingdom’s National Lottery Community Fund and has also gained recognition and received donations from the community committee of Amazon BHX4 site in Coventry, including winning an award from the Black Employee Network of Amazon through the BENtastic campaign.