Patron: Monica Coke

Monica Coke Minority Business Development Policy Manager - Advantage West Midlands, the Regional Development Agency . She is responsible for articulating the work which comes from the West Midlands Minority Ethnic Business Forum across the Agency delivery vehicles as well as its private/public sector partners.   The Forum is an independent, strategic body representing the interests of minority ethnic managed/owned businesses across the West Midlands.  It acts both as an advisory body to the regional development agency and to the agency’s partners as well as providing a channel of communication between the communities and government at local, regional and national level. 

Monica role is to promote the contribution minority ethnic managed/owned businesses make to the West Midlands economy and the benefit of entrepreneurship to individuals within the communities.  She also has the task of identifying prioritising issues of concern to minority ethnic business people by focussing on matters relating to constraints on business development
She has been instrumental in influencing the shaping of the policies of the Forum and in building links between organisations locally as well as nationally - such as the Regional Finance Forum, the West Midlands Business Council and the West Midlands Enterprise Board, Regional Skills Partnership and the West Midlands Business Links.

Monica has played a pivotal role in leading the work of the Forum in ensuring specific issues focussing on minority ethnic communities are uppermost in the development of the strategic documents such as Regional Economic Strategy, City Region Business Plan which is aiming to increase skills levels to ensure that the workforce has skills to compete in the global economy by delivering an employer led and skills for growth agenda amongst many others.   She has also been instrumental in the commissioning of research documents which have helped to change hearts and minds in respect to barriers faced by the communities.
Apart from her day job of influencing policy and strategy to ensure that enterprise and entrepreneurship within the regions minority ethnic communities becomes a reality  she also finds time to time to become involved with community project – Monica was responsible for setting up the African/Caribbean Achievements Group  -   the catalyst for development of same for other communities.  Birmingham Ishango Science Club being the first initiative resulting from the African/Caribbean Achievements Group – The Club which she has chaired now for the past 10 years -which  provides tutorial and educational study support for African-Caribbean pupils, being a place where they can come for guidance, help, support and encouragement with their learning during out-of-school hours.  This enrichment programme aims to raise their educational achievements in Science, Engineering and Technology.
 
Chair of Project Planning Centre – A Social Enterprise which provides training and skills development in automotive engineering and kit car manufacture.
She also sits a various boards locally and nationally – Caribbean Board under the auspices of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, vice-chair of Governors of Harborne Hill School, Corporation Governor City College Birmingham and Regional Co-ordinator for the Jamaican Diaspora UK, member of the financial Ombudsman Service, Accessibility & Transparency Discussion Groupp amongst many others.

Other Patron Profiles
Juliet Oury : Steven Stephenson : Dr Carl Hylton

How you can help
View Submitted Equipment Requests
Submit Requests for Equipment
How to Twin with a Jamaican School
Jamaica history Overview
Contact Jamaica School Resources

Charity reg. no. 1126488.