Access to capital: Utrecht entrepreneurs and Rabobank at De Tafel van Utrecht

In a live broadcast by Omroep AfroNet at TivoliVredenburg, three Utrecht entrepreneurs shared what happens when a good idea can't find funding. Two people from Rabobank then joined them, and the audience asked the question on many minds: why didn't this happen sooner?

What happens when a good idea can't find funding? That was the question at the heart of the live broadcast of De Tafel van Utrecht, held in early October at TivoliVredenburg. The hybrid podcast from Omroep AfroNet was recorded in front of an audience, as part of Black Achievement Month Utrecht and in partnership with Rabobank.

The conversation was hosted by Napoléon Mugabe and Osiris Hoepel. First up was Miriam Frantzen, project leader of Black Achievement Month Utrecht. Three Utrecht entrepreneurs followed: Liza, Fernon and Rachel. Finally, Oumar Barry and Hass Mohammadi of Rabobank took their seats at the table. The audience and viewers of the livestream were able to ask questions.

In his opening, Osiris Hoepel set out the angle. He says he has worked with organisations on inclusion for years, and he sees that the talent is simply there, but that obstacles within institutions often leave the door open only a crack. The conversation covered access to networks, knowledge and funding, as well as the mindset and perseverance that entrepreneurship demands.

Why entrepreneurship is front and center this year

Miriam Frantzen explained that Black Achievement Month celebrates the success and positive image of the African diaspora. Entrepreneurs from the community, she said, often don't get enough attention, even though many of them are achieving great things. This year there is extra focus on entrepreneurship thanks to the partnership with Rabobank, because both parties care about access to funding and growth.

Asked the critical question of what the organisation does after October, she answered that Black Achievement Month Utrecht is above all a platform. People can meet one another and get in touch with advisers from the bank. "We reiken het aan" (we offer it), she said, and people have to seize the opportunity themselves. She pointed to an entrepreneurs' café, Next Level, on 19 October.

Three entrepreneurs, three hurdles

While studying, Liza started a make-up line for skin tones that shops don't cater to. The idea came from her own experience: in a shop she was told they didn't stock her shade of foundation. She paid for her first stock with two thousand euros from a side job. After a few workshops that money was gone, and no new money came in. She knew banks offer products for small and medium-sized businesses, but: "Ik dacht dat ik te klein was om daar te komen."

Fernon says he stumbled into his sneaker shop by accident. He started with childhood friends from a creative collective, but they dropped out and in the end everything was in his name. Money wasn't his biggest problem, he said. Finding stable staff and business partners was. The thing that improved his business most was an accountant who suits him. He says he should have made that happen fifteen years earlier.

Rachel runs her business between the Netherlands and Ethiopia. Nearly all her employees work in Ethiopia, while she is based in the Netherlands. A Dutch bank found her business difficult, she said, because banks hear alarm bells as soon as Africa is mentioned. So she ran her company on customers who paid up front. Her advice to entrepreneurs: make sure your figures and administration are in order, and show evidence that a bank can make money from you. She also had to learn to let go and accept that in the Netherlands, she isn't invited to every table.

Lonely, and yet carrying on

Someone in the audience asked what entrepreneurship costs emotionally. One of the entrepreneurs said that success and money don't always go hand in hand with friendship, and that you can lose people along the way. The advice was to keep talking with someone, whoever that may be. Another entrepreneur described the early years as lonely, because family and friends didn't understand her and she had only her passion.

Rachel said that for her, entrepreneurship is no luxury. In Ethiopia, she said, jobs and benefits are often missing, and she needed a coach to accept that she can't help everyone. Fernon called passion seventy percent of a business, but said you also need a team. To the closing question, what you should do tomorrow if you want to start, the answer was: just do it, start small and test your idea on family and friends first.

Rabobank at the table

Oumar Barry said he has spent ten years researching migrant groups in the Netherlands and came to the country himself as a refugee. In his view, the system isn't built for everyone, but for what he calls the "dominante logica" (the dominant logic). The bank wants to lower barriers by getting closer to the community, including through the Urban Grow project.

Asked why this is only happening after ten years of research, the bank employees answered that the bank has been doing this work for some time, but that in the big cities it lags behind when it comes to people with a migration background. They spoke of blind spots and said they want not only to listen but also to make an impact. One of them mentioned a starter programme that was due to launch in Utrecht on 26 October. We haven't been able to confirm whether it went ahead.

On the practicalities, the bank was concrete. Anyone who already has annual accounts can get a quick assessment with their annual figures and transaction data from the past thirteen months. Starters need a business plan, but it doesn't have to be finished. Because of its duty of care, the bank doesn't lend to people who are unlikely to be able to repay. If an entrepreneur runs into trouble, a separate department looks at things like whether the monthly payment can be temporarily lowered. A rejection, according to the bank, should be explained in person by the adviser.

Rabobank is the main sponsor of the day and a partner of Black Achievement Month Utrecht. The statements made by the bank employees are their own commitments. Whether they are fulfilled remains to be seen. Osiris Hoepel expressed the hope that this table can show concrete results in a year's time.

Background

According to Black Achievement Month, the festival is held every October to showcase the talents of people with African roots. The theme in 2026 is "Turning Black Excellence into Change". According to Stichting MKB Financiering, citing research by the Kennisplatform Inclusief Samenleven, almost forty percent of starting entrepreneurs in the Netherlands have a migration background. Their access to external funding nevertheless remains limited, and most entrepreneurs in that research did not apply for a bank loan, reports Rendement.nl. According to Staat van het MKB, in 2020 more than 36 percent of starters had a migration background, and the number of starters with an African background had almost tripled compared with 2010. We were unable to verify the figure the bank employees cited during the conversation about entrepreneurs who drop out.

You can watch the full broadcast on the Omroep AfroNet YouTube channel, and the episode will also be available on Spotify.

Bronnen

• Omroep AfroNet op YouTube: de volledige live-uitzending
• Black Achievement Month
• Black Achievement Month, evenementenlijst (live-editie De Tafel van Utrecht)
• Stichting MKB Financiering, over onderzoek van het Kennisplatform Inclusief Samenleven
• Rendement.nl, Migranten hebben beperkt toegang tot financiering
• Staat van het MKB, Aantal startende ondernemers met migratieachtergrond neemt toe