Orpington business mentor wins national award for her excellence through diversity

A business mentor from Orpington has picked up a prestigious award at the National Mentoring Matters Awards 2024 for the outstanding work she does to help businesses and marginalised female founders to unlock their growth potential.

Lola Adeleye is the managing partner and lead consultant at GBM Consultancies Ltd which provides consulting services, with a strong focus on leadership development and diversity initiatives. Lola received the Excellence through diversity award.

She joined the Help to Grow: Management course in 2023.

Her work was recognised earlier this month at national awards where she was one of seven mentors rewarded for their contribution to UK growth. Lola said:

"Winning the 'Excellence through diversity' award is a profound validation of my mission to empower business owners and marginalised women and to nurture the next generation of leaders. It reinforces my commitment to creating inclusive spaces where every voice is heard and valued. This recognition inspires me to continue my journey towards building a more diverse and equitable future.

"This award for me, is years of so many 'nos' rolled into one big YES! This validates the work we are doing to give the marginalised a voice and a seat at the table. It is a win for every time I've had to get up and keep going in the face of so many barriers and challenges. It is a fulfilment of many dreams. The big lesson for me is to never say never - because you do not know what tomorrow brings!

"To the world, I'd say keep putting one foot in front of the other in the direction of your dream, keep believing and keep winning! Your best is yet to come!"

Emma Jones CBE, founder of small business support platform Enterprise Nation, said:

"It's brilliant and so important to see the outstanding contribution that dedicated mentors like Lola have on the economy, helping businesses to grow and thrive.

"Since the launch of the voluntary mentoring scheme, we've recruited thousands of experienced mentors who give up their time and energy to support the next generation of ambitious, growing businesses that go on the Help to Grow: Management course.

"The course and its mentors have become an important stepping stone to business success s playing a critical role by increasing resilience."

The Help to Grow: Management course offers senior business leaders 50 hours of leadership and management training across 12 weeks, with the government covering 90% of the costs involved. They each receive one-to-one support from an experienced and rated business mentor. Training is delivered via a national network of over 50 business schools.

Each participant is matched with a voluntary business mentor via the online Help to Grow: Management Course platform. A consortium delivers the mentoring element of the course.

Led by business support group Newable and including Enterprise Nation and the Association of Business Mentors, the consortium was appointed by the Government to develop a national network of business leaders and experts who will share their skills and experience with firms on the practical management training course.    

ENDS

About Newable    

Newable is the leading provider of Money, Advice and Workspace to SMEs. Now employing over 1,000 professional staff, it has grown to become a national business with a presence from Aberdeen to Brighton, serving over 43,000 client companies each year. 

About Enterprise Nation    

Enterprise Nation is a business support platform and provider delivering support to more than 50,000 small businesses every month. Its aim is to help people turn their good ideas into great businesses through expert advice (including a comprehensive resources library), events, acceleration support and networking.  

Enterprise Nation was founded in 2005 by British entrepreneur Emma Jones CBE, also co-founder of national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain. She is author of best-selling business books and is a frequently called-on and regular media commentator on a range of issues which affect the UK's growing number of SMEs. 

About the Association of Business Mentors   

The Association of Business Mentors (ABM) is the UK's leading professional body supporting the business mentor and coach sector while raising the profile of the value of business mentoring to small business owners.