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Posted: Tue 18th Mar 2025
From authentic Nigerian cuisine to delicious Caribbean street food, the winners of this year's Black Business Fund represent the best of Britain's vibrant Black-owned food scene.
Twenty-five restaurants across the UK have been awarded £10,000 each as part of the initiative, created by Uber Eats and delivered in partnership with Enterprise Nation.
Now in its fourth year, the fund has distributed over £800,000 in grants to date, helping to support Black-owned businesses that continue to face disproportionate barriers, such as reduced access to finance.
With over 1,000 restaurants applying for the fund, winners hail from across the country, with successful restaurants based in London, Manchester, Leicester, Nottingham and Huddersfield.
Wingerz Wingz, Edmonton, London, is a family-run restaurant, take away and festival catering business specialising in delicious chicken wings, drumsticks and burgers by 25-year-old founder Naomi Oppong, winner of the Best Newcomer at Wing Fest.
Mamas Ktchn, Newmarket, Suffolk and London, is a female-led Afro-Caribbean-inspired plant-based pop-up soul food business founded by Makeda Mawusi.
Cinnamon Leaf, Tottenham, London, is an Afro-Caribbean inspired organic cultural health grocery store. Launched in 2020, serves the local North London community and features a fresh deli counter and curated veg boxes delivered locally.
Tropics 68 is a restaurant, wine bar and community space based in Thornton Heath, South London. It uses its space to promote a positive cultural experience through food, music, culture and art. It was founded by Winston Alleyne.
One Love Kitchen, based near Crouch End, North London, was launched by Steven Payne in 2015. It serves authentic Caribbean dishes like jerk chicken, grilled lamb, curried goat and fish.
Mama Jose is a cupcake bakery in London that specialises in developing and baking cakes for people with food allergies and intolerances. Founder Siobhan Joseph developed food allergies herself and when her second son was also born with serious allergies, she set about creating bakes he could enjoy. From there, the business was born.
Twerk 'N' Jerk produces soul food inspired by founder Tyron Salih's roots in Jamaican and Cypriot cuisine. Twerk 'N' Jerk serves up in Ilford and Canary Wharf, London.
All Nations Vegan House is a family-run vegan business in Stoke Newington, London, specialising in Caribbean-inspired vegan cuisine. The restaurant was founded by Atreka Cameron.
Good Cake Day is a Wandsworth-based baking business launched in 2017 by Chinela Awa. The company bakes beautiful cakes for special occasions or sends boxes of bakes like brownies through the post, while supporting local causes.
The Taco House, based in Haringey, London, serves Moroccan and Mexican-inspired tacos and burgers. It was founded by Saleem Rantell.
Nomie's Kitchen is based in Barking, East London and serves Nigerian and African-fusion home-cooked meals like wholesome stews and soup. It was founded by Vivian Ebillah.
Egg & Bun is a Hammersmith-based breakfast and lunch takeaway and delivery service, set up by Ibrahim Kosso.
Mr Patties is a Leicester-based Jamaican bakery founded by Kenrick Mattis, delivering boxes of Jamaican patties UK-wide.
Haus of Flava (HOF), Nottingham, was founded in 2020 by Fiona Able when she was a university undergraduate. HOF specialises in soul food, including creole-inspired seafood boils with lobster and shrimps.
Mojo Food in Daventry, Northamptonshire, is a community-based café bar founded in 2021 by Jacqui Okundaye. The café bar offers bottomless brunches, mocktail making parties for kids, evening events and a book club, while operating a café by day and bar by night.
The Curried Goat, Ipswich, was founded in 2022 by Shante Manners. A family-run private catering and delivery service, it offers a fusion of Caribbean, Creole and Southern-style barbecue cuisine to Ipswich and the surrounding areas.
Mama's Soul Food, Manchester, is a family-run business specialising in New Orleans-style seafood boil, gourmet fried chicken and homemade Mac n Cheese. It was founded in 2021 by Makeda Mawusi, after he flipped his career in banking to cooking. Fast forward to 2025 and Mama's has grown to a team of 18, is winning awards and is fully established on the Manchester food scene.
Todo Tacos, based in Liverpool, is a restaurant and community hub serving authentic Mexican street food like 12-hour slow-cooked beef brisket, Birria tacos and a range of sides. Launched in 2024 by Owen Haggith-Khonje.
Mamabobo Restaurant, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a family-run restaurant and take-away serving Nigerian-inspired food.
Roundtable Catering Company, in Crawley, Sussex, but serving the surrounding counties, is a family-owned Afro-Caribbean firm that produces authentic Ghanaian, Nigerian and Jamaican food for corporate events, weddings and parties.
Afro Lounge, Cardiff, brings the vibrant flavours of West Africa to Cardiff while creating a welcoming space for people to connect, celebrate, and feel at home, with a focus on mental wellbeing. Founded by Adesegun Badmos in 2022.
Bashed UK was launched in Barry, Cardiff in 2020 by Marcus Vatsaloo, after he was made redundant over lockdown. It serves smashed patties and fried chicken and is hoping to expand to serve its popular food at events and festivals.
Playtropolis, in Wombourne, Wolverhampton, is an educational play centre and cafe run by Becky Murray for families. As well as serving nourishing food, it delivers education and fun role-play areas where children can explore.
Jenny's Jerk Kitchen is a Caribbean street food company based in Leeds. The business was founded by Jennifer Barry in 2019 and now operates over two sites in the city.
Ahadu Huddersfield is a community hub and restaurant serving Ethiopian-inspired food. Ahadu was launched by former nurse Hiwot Hailu in 2023.
Among the Black Business Fund winners this year is Mamabobo Restaurant in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Its founder Hammed Obikoya says:
"As a Black-owned business, we understand the importance of community and the power of partnerships.
"We'll use this grant to further develop exciting recipes, expand our products and invest in training and development, and overall renovate our restaurant."
Other winners include Nomie's Kitchen in Barking, East London. Owner Vivian Ebillah says:
"This grant is a game-changer for Nomie's Kitchen. It's not just financial support, but a powerful validation of our hard work, passion and vision.
"This will not only allow us to continue serving high-quality, authentic Nigerian cuisine but also support our sustainability efforts to adopt eco-friendly packaging, create local job opportunities, strengthen our brand presence and give back to our community through community engagement initiatives."
Black business owners face particular barriers in accessing investment and finance, with Black workers most likely to say ethnicity hinders their career progression.
In the UK, just five per cent of small or medium-sized businesses are run by people from ethnic minority backgrounds, with Black and Mixed ethnicity groups the least likely to be self-employed.
According to research:
43% of Black business owners believe that ethnicity has hindered their career progression – the highest of any ethnic minority group, according to Be Inclusive Hospitality
among Black business owners, the biggest concern for accessing finance are worries about taking on debt (34%), with only three in 10 approaching banks for finance, according to Lloyds Bank
Emma Jones CBE, founder of Enterprise Nation, says:
"These brilliant businesses are delivering a healthy serving of innovation, diversity and a rich sense of community into the UK's hospitality sector, as the industry is experiencing tough times.
"By consistently supporting these talented but under-represented restaurant-owners and offering targeted support to ensure the business, as well as the food, can be healthy and sustainable, the Uber Eats Black Business Fund is producing a fresh generation of food businesses on our high streets.
"Helping Black-owned hospitality businesses to thrive is good for the economy and for us all."
Matthew Price, Uber Eats UK's general manager, says:
"Since its kick-off, Uber Eats Black Business Fund has provided over £750,000 in support to small businesses across the UK.
"Black-owned businesses are integral to the UK's diverse hospitality sector, but they continue to face unique challenges.
"We're proud to offer tangible support through this fund, helping to ensure these incredible restaurants have the resources they need to thrive and continue enriching their communities."
Lorraine Copes, founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality and judge for the 2025 fund, says:
"The Uber Eats Black Business Fund is a vital initiative that provides much-needed financial support to Black-owned food businesses across the UK.
"The hospitality industry is brimming with talent and innovation, yet systemic barriers – particularly in accessing funding – continue to present significant challenges.
"Judging this year's applicants has been an honour, giving me first-hand insight into the passion, resilience and creativity of these business owners.
"This investment will enhance the UK's food landscape by supporting businesses that bring rich food traditions to their communities."
Congratulations to the winners who will go on to receive mentoring and grant funds to grow their businesses.
You can find more black-owned restaurants to support across the country on Black Eats LDN.
