Features / Poku Osei
Poku Osei: ‘How do we not leave a whole generation behind?’
Poku Osei is more determined than ever to tackle inequalities in Bristol and level the playing field in the wake of the pandemic.
“It’s thinking about what a new norm could look like and how do we not leave a whole generation behind,” says the founder and CEO of social enterprise Babbasa.
Meeting for a coffee in Stokes Croft, Poku speaks about his work to drive systemic change and bridge the divide for young people from inner city communities, the need to get the corporate sector on side and his plan for a new workplace index.
is needed now More than ever
It was in August that Babbasa and the mayor’s City Office announced an ambition to reach a target of supporting at least one person from each inner-city household to secure a median salary of £30,353 by 2030.
“This is an opportunity to stop inequality from getting steeper because the more inequality we have the more likely it is that Bristol – and the South West – does not become an attractive place and it does not help us to compete on a world scale,” Poku tells Bristol24/7.
Listen to the full interview on the Behind the Headlines podcast:
Poku, who launched Babbasa in 2010, is also keen to work with the universities to establish a workplace equality index – akin to Stonewall’s model – to help companies measure their own performance when it comes to representation and inclusion.
“At the moment, a lot of companies want to do the right thing,” explains Poku.
“But the city doesn’t have the proper vehicle for capturing what makes social mobility work. This city is obsessed with talking about the Runnymede Trust report. Five years ago we were the seventh-worst, well how are we tracking year on year? And how are we building the knowledge that helps us to close inequality for the next generation?”
Poku adds: “If we really are thinking about systemic change, we cannot just be taking that person-centred approach and let it end there. Something equally needs to change in the city psyche, but also in the way policy and commissions are done because we can correct the issue but if we don’t have an impact on how the structure works, then you will keep producing the same product.”
Poku Osei wants to establish a workplace equality index in Bristol – photo courtesy of Babbasa
Main photo by Ellie Pipe
Read more: Target to help young people in Bristol secure £30,000 salaries by 2030
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