Foluke Akinlose

Shared by emma_kate Make Your Mark team

Make Your Mark Ambassador Foluke Akinlose tells us the story of Precious Online and why lack of funding shouldn't stop you following your dream.

Precious is an online magazine, network and resource for women of colour. We launched in 1999 and were the first publication of its kind to launch in the UK. Our aim is to be the premier destination for women of colour on the web.

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.

When I was thinking about a name, I wanted something that summed up how I felt about the women I knew and what I wanted the magazine to be the women who read it. Precious seemed so apt.

Precious profiles and celebrates the professional and entrepreneurial achievements of women of colour in the UK. Alongside the magazine, we host a number of events throughout the year, our flagship being the Precious Awards that applaud women in business and female leaders in the workplace. We’ve received support for the awards from David Cameron, Hazel Blears, Nick Clegg and Boris Johnson, but most importantly hundreds of women who are making their mark in business, both here and internationally.

Positive people doing their own thing inspire us. There is so much talent out there, we want to play our part in exposing it and we hope that people see Precious as a vehicle to global success.