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Despite Britain’s economy showing signs of recovery in 2021, many businesses continue to struggle. Upper Sixth student Aisha Ahmed explores how BAME businesses have been affected by the pandemic.
Covid Impact on
BAME Businesses T
he Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the entire world. Over the past two years, we have been fed statistics highlighting the blows to our economy, the NHS, our social lives and mental health. It is easy to forget, however, that data and mathematical figures are comprised of pieces of individual experience. The holistic view makes it easy to be unsympathetic and dispassionate to the hardship of others.
My research, which has focused on two businesses run by people from BAME backgrounds, has contextualised the pandemic’s impact, a qualitative antidote to the media’s obsession with quantitative information. The two businesses are a hair salon and an Afro-Caribbean grocery store, both located in Woolwich, southeast London. As well as providing specialised services to Afro-Caribbean hair and groceries, both maintain a friendly environment
