Tobun named as one of Britain’s most influential black people in the new 2022 Powerlist

Tevin Tobun, CEO of GV Group and a veteran of the hospitality and logistics industry has been named as one of the UK’s most influential black people in The Powerlist 2022.

It is the fourth successive year that Tevin has been on the annual list which recognises the most powerful people of African, African Caribbean and African American heritage in Britain across a range of industries including business, politics, technology and science.

GV Group, founded by Tevin almost two decades ago, is responsible for over 21million UK deliveries a year across the education, social, healthcare, business & industry and retails sectors and its clients have included Tesco and Iceland. The award-winning company’s subsidiary Platebox delivers 10 millions school dinners across the country while FoodMove makes 15 million deliveries to small businesses, hotels and restaurants.

In an attempt to reduce carbon footprint, Tevin has sanctioned a £1,000,000 million investment into a new fleet of electric vehicles to execute his business.

As well as recognising his work in business, Tevin was also praised by judges for his charity work. Last year, partly in response to the impact of the pandemic, Tevin launched The Tobun Foundation, an organisation that offers educational support to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Speaking about his inclusion on the list, on which he is named alongside Marcus Rashford, Dame Pat McGrath and Kwasi Kwarteng, Tevin said: “It is an honour to once again be named on the Powerlist alongside so many other incredible people, especially during what has continued to be a very challenging time for so many people.

“I believe the list is such a positive way to inspire young people and encourage them to be the best they can be and I’d like to thank the judges for including me for the fourth time. It means a lot and I don’t take it for granted. I also want to thank my team and everyone who works at GV Group for making the company the success it is and also everyone who supports and has supported The Tobun Foundation.”

Outside of leading GV Group and the Tobun Foundation, Tevin is a council member at The Open University, is a lifetime patron of hospital charity Springboard and was on the board of Middlesex University, and He is also chair of Inspirational You, which provides guidance to people of BAME background starting out in business through a range of initiatives, such as work experience, mentoring and business workshops. Since he has taken over the role, he has overseen the coordination of over 50 enterprise workshop and forum events in the last 10 years, reaching over 10,000 people. In recent years Tevin’s accolades include being recognized as ‘Highly Commended Young Director’ at The Institute of Directors’ annual Director of the Year Awards, being named as one of the EMpower top 100 Ethnic Minority Role models, and his business, GV Group was awarded Innovative Company of the Year. This October he was also named as “one to watch” on the LDC list of the UK’s most ambitious business leaders.

The Powerlist, which is produced in partnership with J.P.Morgan and sponsored by PwC, Facebook, the Executive Leadership Council, The London Stock Exchange Group, and MasterCard, recognises and celebrates the most influential black people in Britain. It has grown to become the definitive and most prestigious recognition of black achievement within the UK.

New educational initiative launched aiming to support 250,000 young people impacted by lost learning due to Covid-19

The Tobun Foundation has today announced the launch of a new initiative aiming to support 250,000 disadvantaged young people whose education has been impacted during the Covid-enforced lockdowns.  

The Covid-19 ‘Educational Support Programme’ will provide computer equipment, tuition, and mentoring, to enable those most affected to catch up on lost learning as a result of the pandemic.   

By partnering with schools and Saturday schools, the Foundation has committed to supporting secondary and primary school students by providing access to laptops to support home learning as well as providing internet access.  

It will also provide 100% subsidised tutor sessions, as well as access to mentorship, academic motivation, and career development with new and existing partners.  

According to the National Foundation for Educational Research, there has been a 46% widening of the learning gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in 2020 as a direct consequence of the Covid-enforced lockdown.  

In a separate study by the Education Policy Institute, disadvantaged children in England are already approximately 1.5 years behind their non-disadvantaged peers in terms of their academic attainment by the time they leave secondary school.  

The disadvantaged attainment gap has intensified due to Covid-19, which has also amplified the digital divide young people from low-income families face in accessing online schooling.  

Research from the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education also points to the fact that 97% of private school pupils have had access to a home computer and, by contrast, one in five pupils on free school meals have no access to a home computer.  

The initiative, which includes an initial £100,000 donation from Tevin Tobun, CEO of GV Group, is being funded through The Tobun Foundation and partners providing in-kind support. By working with corporate partners, the Foundation aims to raise further funds to support its development.  

The first programme is being implemented in London at Croydon Supplementary Education Project (CSEP), with further programmes being rolled out nationwide. To access the resources, schools and parents are being encouraged to apply for support directly through the foundation’s website.   

The programme with CSEP, sees the Foundation offer maths, English, and science tuition for three days a week for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds living in the area.  

The foundation has previously offered funded scholarships to support disadvantaged students to attend university; the Covid-19 Educational Support Programme is an extension of this.   

Tevin Tobun, CEO, GV Group (Gate Ventures) and founder of The Tobun Foundation, said: “I firmly believe that every child in this country has a right to an equal education. The Covid-enforced lockdowns have had a disproportionate impact on many disadvantaged young people who were already facing significant barriers to learning.  

“It is incumbent on us to provide young people with a platform to support them to reach their desired goals and aspirations  

“The next generation are our Prime Ministers, doctors, nurses, and entrepreneurs and they will be shaping the country. We cannot afford to do them a disservice by not supporting them during this challenging period.   

“While this initiative will not solve the long-term issues for education inequality, we hope that we will be able to help some young people be the best that they can be.”  

Jacinth Martin, project manager, CSEP, added: "The Tobun Foundation has been vital in helping us continue to support young people during what is an incredibly difficult time for so many of them. The learning divide between young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and others is already a huge issue across the country. The pandemic has only exasperated this so it's really important that we are all doing whatever we can to try to bridge this gap."

K, a student from the Croydon programme, said: "It has helped me to widen my range of knowledge as during lockdown there wasn't work for me to do or understand. It also helped me because when I went back to school, I can feel myself going down but it slowly pulled me back up again. I definitely want to continue with the programme.”