Financial Service Forum awards

Savanta winners alongside LBG and Coldr

We are delighted to announce that Savanta, alongside Black Business Network, Coldr, and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), won the Most Transformative Customer Insight award at last night’s Financial Service Forum’s Innovation and Transformation awards. The Financial Services Forum's 2023 Awards for Innovation and Transformation are a celebration of the businesses, teams and individuals who have sparked innovation, change or transformation within their market, business or category.

We also won the special judges overall award for the best innovation for B2B!

Feedback from the judges highlighted that the “The Race For Change – Black British In Business And Proud” research was “A great piece of insight which has been directly used by the business and instilled a cultural change.”

Commenting on the win Shari Leigh, Founder at Black Business Network added. “We are honoured to be recognised by the FSF Innovation Awards for our work with Lloyds Bank and Savanta on the BBIBP report. To be able to authentically represent the voice and experiences of our community is at the heart of the report and Black Business Network, and we are overwhelmed to see that the report is creating a meaningful impact across the industry.”

Samantha Owo, Head of Group Inclusion & Diversity at Lloyds Banking Group, commented, “What a fantastic recognition of the wonderful partnership between Lloyds Bank, Savanta, Black Business Network and Coldr. Together we’ve delivered transformative customer insight which informs our Black Entrepreneurs Programme, a key commitment that underpins our Race Action Plan. We’ve made some great progress but we have much more to do.”

Kathy Ellison, Director, Savanta, added, “I am incredibly proud of these 2 awards for our research programme among Black entrepreneurs ” Black British In Business And Proud”. This research is special to me as Lloyds are ensuring that the findings are genuinely making a difference to build a more inclusive society.”

Details of the award include:

Most Transformative Customer Insight
For many businesses, innovation and transformation are born from customer insight. Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) partnered with Savanta to conduct a multi-year research project identifying and addressing the challenges faced by Black entrepreneurs in the UK. Over 1,000 respondents, including Black business owners, participated in the research, which also included in-depth individual interviews with Black-owned businesses.

The research drove decision-making, partnerships, and collaborations to rebuild trust and start showing Black-owned businesses that LBG, and the banking and investment industry, can support their growth. The final report achieved 500 downloads, and the campaign created 400 million engagement opportunities, aligning with LBG’s goal of creating a more sustainable and inclusive future.