Young Brixton businessman calls for more Government support for small firms

Gaps in government support schemes risk “sinking” the next generation of entrepreneurs, a start-up founder has told millions of listeners.

A young Brixton businessman warned on the BBC’s Money Box programme that many firms will go to the wall if they do not get support during lockdown.

Hakeem Duckworth-Porter’s call was backed by Streatham MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy.

He set up HDP Consulting Ltd in May 2019 to provide business growth and debt management advice to small and medium sized businesses.

The trainer and mentor grew up on the Clapham Park Estate in Brixton Hill and sold training packages for the Press Association.

He currently runs his consultancy out of his rented flat in Streatham.

On BBC Radio Four’s Money Box programme, Hakeem, pictured above, outlined that as a small, home-based business he falls through the cracks of the current schemes.

Hakeem said: “There is a real problem that the current government support packages simply don’t help very small businesses or entrepreneurs in Lambeth.

“If you run a home-based business, you don’t qualify for the small business grant, even though you pay corporation tax, national insurance contributions and raise VAT revenue for the taxman, like everyone else.

“If you’re a start-up, established in the 2019 to 2020 tax year, you can’t access the self-employment income support scheme due to arbitrary cut-off dates.”

He has looked to innovate by setting up new services, including one to help other small businesses struggling with their own debt issues.

But as the Bank of England warned that the country is facing the worst economic crisis since 1709, he believes that a lot of similar businesses are going to struggle to remain afloat.

“I come from a small family of Afro-Caribbean descent without any cash to put behind me,” he said. “I have had to work long hours to build up a small outfit that looks to help other small businesses so I can put something back into the community.

“My mum and dad always taught me the value of honest, hard work, which is partly why I set up my business in the first place.

“I know a lot of young people in the same boat who believe that one more wave will capsize their whole company, whether that’s in the form of an unpaid invoice or their next rent bill from their landlord.

“That’s how perilous it is for a lot of hard-working people out there at the moment.

“I’m asking the government to take another look at our sector and provide short-term support.

“Without it we could see a generation of Lambeth small businesses disappear, depriving our local economy of jobs, investment and that entrepreneurial spirit that has always made Lambeth so vibrant.”