FIVE WINNERS of the Deutsche Bank Awards for Creative Entrepreneurs (DBACE) have been announced, winning a share of £50,000 for their creative business. 

With the creative industries contributing more than £100 billion to the UK economy every year, DBACE supports young UK-based entrepreneurs driven by a mission to drive and sustain social value through enterprise. The programme is part of Deutsche Bank’s global social enterprise programme, Made for Good, and has been delivered in partnership with not-for-profit creative industries incubator MeWe360.

The winners were revealed at a ceremony hosted by Gemma Cairney (BBC Radio 1) at The Conduit in the heart of London’s West End. The five winners are:

Activate the City! – Karen Jelenje

Black Ballad – Bola Awoniyi & Tobi Oredein

Bukky Baldwin – Ibukun Jesusanmi Baldwin

Mental Health The Arts – Angela Awuah

Petit Pli – Ryan Mario Yasin

Speaking on the winners, Nicole Lovett, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility UK, Deutsche Bank said: “After more than a quarter of a century supporting emerging creative enterprise in the UK, this year was the right time to look at DBACE with fresh eyes to ensure it reflected modern Britain and welcomed inspiring entrants with great ideas from a multitude of backgrounds. The quality of the 2019 applicants has been outstanding, making the judging very difficult indeed.

“The five winners demonstrated original and exciting creative business ideas with sustainable models that look ahead to ongoing success. The prizes awarded mean far more than money, they offer a year of support and mentoring to give our winners every chance of success, shining a light on their ingenuity and the importance of the creative industries to the wider UK economy”.

One of the five winners, Tobi Oredein, took to social media and tweeted: “God is so good. I just want to say HUGE thank you every black woman that has shared her talents with this site. And HUGE thank you to everyone who has bought a membership- past & present you have planted a seed. Black Ballad will get there. ”

Established in 1993, the longstanding awards of 26 years have undergone a transformation in 2019. Now focusing on social creative enterprise, Deutsche Bank is working with MeWe360 to develop a programme that has encouraged entries by entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, broadening the cohort of applicants and the variety of creative enterprises involved.

Kevin Osborne, founder and CEO of MeWe360 said: “We are looking forward to working closely with the five winners in the coming year and to support them with mentoring and networking so that their businesses thrive. We’re immensely proud to have been invited by Deutsche Bank to partner on this year’s DBACE and are excited by the potential of the partnership to help many future young entrepreneurs on their journeys to success.”