Second Black Pound Day set to take place on Saturday

The second Black Pound Day is organised for Saturday 1 August. On this day, people are encouraged to show their support through buying their regular purchases from local and online Black-owned businesses in the UK.

What is Black Pound Day?

The first Black Pound Day occurred on 27 June. It was created by Swiss, a member of So Solid Crew, as a response to George Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter protests. 

Future Black Pound Days have been announced for the first Saturday of the month until the end of this year. In addition to making purchases on these days, the initiative also aims to promote long-term support of UK Black-owned businesses. 

How to participate

The Black Pound Day website has listings of Black-owned businesses in the UK. It’s free for businesses to sign up to and allows people to search the list, including by category or location. 

It’s possible to upload receipts from purchases on the day via the dedicated section of the Black Pound Day website. The aim of this is to understand the financial impact of the initiative, and the total figures are available to view on the site. 

The initiative encourages people to share their favourite brands and businesses, and use #BlackPoundDay on social media. 

Black Pound Day and businesses

Benjamin Murenzi, managing director of Rafiki Coffee, comments: “Like many other businesses, 2020 has been challenging in many ways. 

“However, initiatives like Black Pound Day have helped our product to get more exposure in the UK and to reach out to new customers. 

“This was mostly achieved through recommendations on social media, and by creating partnerships with other UK businesses, like Keep Edinburgh Thriving, who have created the Momentum Box that featured various UK black-owned businesses and their products. 

“This has proven to be a very effective way that helped Rafikï go through unstable times during the lockdown.”

Joshua Owonaiye, founder and CEO of Grind & Cosy, says: “The importance of Black Pound Day shows that there is a real culture shift happening. 

“When I started my market research, one potential issue which was flagged was that making products with the needs of black customers front of mind could alienate people from spending. 

“But the fact that Black Pound Day is gaining increasing prominence shows that black consumers really do want to buy from places that recognise and provide for their specific needs.”