The Sikh Geek

Once in a blue moon something quite amazing happens and you read a post that just sums up something so completely and accurately. I read this post from the SBS Diva about how the IT Profession doesn’t seem to reflect the cultural diversity of society at large. As someone who is of Indian origin, this struck a chord with me. Also because I have been working with a pioneering project in Leicester to bring Minority SMEs face to face with Corporate buyers such as IBM, Environment Agency, PepsiCo, JP Morgan, Enterprise Rent-a-Car to name but a few. It is now launching nationally and is called Minority Supplier Development UK. It is modeled on a very successful organisation in the US called the National Minority Supplier Development Council which has almost every major US Corporation as members and is a multi-billion dollar organisation. This is not about positive discrimination or handing out contracts just because you’re a minority business. This is about showing that there are some great minority owned businesses out there that deserve to bid for a contract and win on their own merits. It is about putting these businesses on the radar map of these corporate buyers.

Corporations, especially in the US, are realising that there is a big demographic change happening that to ignore this will effect them economically. It’s about being good citizens but also about the bottom line as well.

Respect to the SBS Diva for highlighting such a subject, to be able look beyond the narrow confines that we all find ourselves in. Hail the “SMB Diva”!!