Episode 111

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Published on:

4th Sep 2025

Enterprising Equality - Building Fairer Futures Through Business with Professor Monder

Starting a business can change lives.

It can mean freedom, security, and the chance to shape your own future.

But let’s be honest - if you’re from a racially marginalised community, there are still barriers stacked against you that hard work alone won’t fix.

That’s why I’m so glad to be speaking with Professor Monder Ram OBE, director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship at Aston University.

Monder has spent decades making sure these stories are heard and acted on, and in this conversation we get into what’s really going on, what needs to change, and the opportunities we’re missing if we don’t take inclusive entrepreneurship seriously.

Highlights:

(07:15) Why CREME is different from other research centres

(15:40) The £75 billion opportunity for the UK

(22:10) Three big barriers: money, markets, management

(34:00) Business as a progressive force against toxic politics

(44:20) Shifting the narrative from deficit to asset

Find out more:

Aston University CREME institute The Time to Change Report: A Blueprint for Advancing the UK’s Ethnic Minority Businesses, commissioned by NatWest Group

https://www.aston.ac.uk/research/bss/abs/centres-hubs/creme/time-to-change

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About the Podcast

The Wellbeing Rebellion

Welcome to The Wellbeing Rebellion, an award-winning podcast! We are Ngozi Weller, a corporate wellbeing and productivity consultant, and Obehi Alofoje, a psychologist and behavioural change specialist.

We are the founders of Aurora, a corporate culture consultancy that specialises in creating psychologically safe workplaces that enable employees to thrive, and for us, wellbeing is personal.

The problem with employee wellbeing support, in most workplaces, is that it puts the responsibility on the person struggling to seek help. And when you are unwell, that is just too big a burden to bear.

It's not enough to say that your door is always open.

We need to get better at supporting our employees, and that is precisely what this podcast is about.

The rebellion is here, and it is long overdue. So this podcast is specifically for the HR or business leader who wants to make a difference to their employees. And the bottom line is we want to create psychologically safe workplaces where employees are empowered to bring their whole selves to work. We want to create a culture that is inclusive, supportive, and encourages everyone from the shop floor to the boardroom to play their part.

On the wellbeing rebellion podcast, we'll give you weekly up-to-date insights, strategies and tips that cover leadership capability, executive burnout, mental health, equity, diversity and inclusion and employee challenges such as retention, productivity and emotional resilience. Sometimes, it'll be just us. Other times we'll interview industry leaders and experts.

Don't hesitate - listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts, because The Wellbeing Rebellion starts now!

About your hosts

Obehi Alofoje

Obehi is a psychologist and culture change consultant who helps senior HR and business leaders reduce employee burnout, absenteeism & talent attrition through mental wellbeing strategy, training & coaching.

Ngozi Weller

Ngozi Weller is a culture change consultant and an ICF accredited coach who helps build resilience into your business by creating psychologically safe workplaces that enable employees to thrive.