Bayo Adelaja, Fund Manager

Bayo founded Do it Now Now (DINN) in response to gaps in the support available to Black innovators building tech companies and social enterprises in the UK and across Africa. The initiatives Bayo developed for DINN have led to awards by both Harvard University and Oxford University's Business Schools where she has worked to create and foster opportunities for under-served communities through technology.

​Bayo has also been a Grant Awarding Judge for USAID, Entrepreneurship Programme Mentor at the Tony Elumelu Foundation and designed the UK’s first-ever enterprise support program for women of colour, the BAME Female Founders Incubator for Hatch Enterprise. In 2018, Bayo was named one of the most influential women in social entrepreneurship in the UK, by Natwest bank, has worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and in 2019, Bayo was chosen as one of the top 100 most influential BAME leaders by the Financial Times and Inclusive Boards.

Ugo Ikokwu, Fund Advisor

Ugo has over a decade of experience in social finance and grant making. As Programme Director at The Fore Trust, Relationship Manager and Business Development Analyst at Social Investment Business (SIB) he has managed numerous grant and investment readiness programmes and overseen the delivery of well over £120m of grant and social investment funds. He has developed business plans for new funds and commercial projects and has also sat on the other side of the table (both in Local Government, at SIB and The Fore) assessing proposals for funding support.​ He has also been a member of and chaired multiple grant decision making panels as well as managing key stakeholder relationships across all grant contracts and fund holders).

Temi Phyllis Pratt, Grants and Community Support Manager

Temi is the Grants and Community support manager for Common Call. She believes passionately in the role of the social sector in providing opportunities for marginalised communities. Catalytic funding opportunities are key to this and she believes in partnering with social sector leaders in achieving their goals. She has worked in the private and third sector in the UK managing projects for clients including FCDO, the IADB and private Company Foundations.
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Her experience in grant and programme management spans the  international development and social impact sector, across a range of geographies including the UK, Niger, Nigeria and the DRC. 

Grant Assessors

We have an active pipeline of grants assessors drawn specifically from the Black community who are engaged for this Fund. They have a combined experience in the social sector of over 40 years. They have extensive experience in working with frontline Charities and Social Enterprises and take part in all aspects of the investment/grant making process, from handling expressions of interest, through to conducting early telephone assessment interviews, delivering support during due diligence, mentoring, business support, making recommendations to the potential grantees, finalising investment agreements and managing a portfolio of investees and grantees.

Panel 

Chelcie Lewis

Chelcie Lewis is co-director of ‘Positive Role Models’ an award winning, North London based community interest company.  Through bespoke programmes and projects, which often combine the power of sport and mentoring, Positive Role Models CIC engages with young people under the age of 25, to raise their aspirations, so that they can clearly define their own ambitions and develop a wide range of skills and qualifications, that enrich every area of their life.
 
In 2019, Positive Role Models CIC, was a grantee of the pilot Common Call grant fund.
 
Chelcie holds a BA with honours and an MBA. An award-winning and highly experienced marketing professional, with over 17years experience in brand marketing, Chelcie is the founder of Shine Brighter Marketing, providing Caribbean travel brands with a marketing service within the UK, clients include The British Virgin Islands and luxury villas in Saint Lucia.

Marcia Asare

Since getting London Funders up and running over fifteen years ago, Marcia has sought out ways to support the growth of the UK’s Third Sector. Marcia is proud of her work over this time – supporting CEO’s, Founders, and Charity leaders to find ways to better collaborate, with a view to leveraging in, increased financial support and influence, to the social issues – they are working to solve.

Marcia is proud to have had the opportunity to impact a wide range of social issues whilst a Director at the School for Social Entrepreneurs. Whilst there she supported over 300 Social Entrepreneurs in their personal and professional development.  Now at the City & Guilds Group as the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility lead, Marcia has spent much of the last 7 years setting and running its Skills Development Fund, and working alongside Cranfield University to identify, capture and tell the story of the Fund’s impact.

Anshu Mandal 

Anshu is a Business Development Advisor at Shell Foundation, where she manages a portfolio of companies deploying scalable solutions to enhance access to energy and affordable transportation in Africa. 

Prior to this, she managed an Impact Fund focused on investing in early stage, high impact education social enterprises and charities. She has an MSc in Banking and International Finance from CASS Business School and began her career in financial services where she undertook various roles before moving to the impact investment sector in 2014.

"This fund is an important stepping stone in addressing a number of factors that prevent Black-led social enterprises and charities in the UK receiving financial an non-financial support."

​Patricia Hamzahee, FRSA

Patricia is the Founder of Integriti Capital and Director at Extend Ventures. After 20 years in investment banking and financial communications, Patricia now helps social enterprises attract private capital and advises companies on their responsible investment strategies. She is also working to diversify access to funding for Black and ethnic minority businesses.

​She is a Trustee of Ballet Black, Chair of Friends of International House New York UK, outgoing Chair of the Development Board of Black Cultural Archives, an Associate Director of The Finance Foundation, a member of Women in Social Finance and a member of BVCA’s Responsible Investment Advisory Committee from 2012-2019.

"In the face of the widespread calls for racial justice that followed the murder of George Floyd, there have been many pledges of solidarity and allyship. These words have, however, resulted in very little actual financial support for chronically underfunded Black-led social enterprises and charities working on the front lines in serving deprived communities. For me the solution is a bias towards collaboration, co-creation and community in order to build self-sufficiency. I am delighted to assist Common Call achieve this with its grants programme."