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Our Founder

image of Foluke Akinlose
Foluke Akinlose MBE Founder/Editor

PRECIOUS is a digital platform, network and resource for women of colour. Launched in 1999 by Foluke Akinlose MBE it was the first publication of its kind in the UK.

We champion ambitious women of colour by shining a light on their achievements and building their professional networks through powerful sisterhood.

We do this through our magazine, our awards programmes and our regular monthly events that showcase the success of everyday role models.

Foluke’s Story

I’d dreamt of launching a magazine for women of colour since I was a kid. When I was younger there were no British magazines that featured girls that looked like me, I’d spend my pocket-money on American imports and they were great, but I really wanted to read about the Black British experience.

When I grew older and started working in the media as a journalist I quickly realised how expensive setting up a print magazine was. I just didn’t have those kinds of funds so I decided to put the magazine idea at the back of my mind for a while.

In 1996 I began working in the online department of ITN. Because of the nature of my job I spent a lot of time researching online. I came across so many online publications aimed at African-American women but there was nothing for those based in the UK. I soon realised that the web gave me a way of publishing and this was a way for me to launch the magazine that I had always dreamed of doing. So I followed my dream.

Our aim is to profile and celebrate the professional and entrepreneurial achievements of women of colour in the UK. We host a number of events throughout the year and we host an annual awards event that celebrates the achievements of entrepreneurs and leaders in business and community.

We also work with a range of corporate partners on various projects be it recruitment, events or helping them to showcase their products to our diverse audience.

If you want to talk to PRECIOUS contact me at: foluke@preciousonline.co.uk | @foluke

Foluke x

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PRECIOUS has been recognised as an approved partner of Nurole, the disruptive online platform democratising access to board level roles. With over 25,000 members across 100+ countries, Nurole provides access to a range of board level paid opportunities from startups to FTSE 100 as well as pro bono trustee roles that are otherwise hard to come by.