Belange's Firm Futures story

For young people starting out it’s a great experience to go through presenting your business and receiving funding. It was a great confidence builder.

Belange was keen to develop his own business. He had completed a Master's in Business and Entrepreneurship following his degree in Business and Media, but with the credit crunch it was hard to get employment. He saw information about Firm Futures online and completed an application. Following a successful presentation of his ideas he was given a £1000 bursary - a welcome boost as he had no access to funding. It meant he could develop a website and upgrade his camera, both valuable assets for his new company. It gave Belange a professional edge, and meant he could focus on building MC Media London, a company specialising in image making, commercial photoshoots and working with brands and small businesses/start-ups to help develop their visuals online and in print.

As Belange says: “I already had the ideas for my company, the grant made a massive difference to being able to buy better equipment and develop a website which gave me a professional edge.”

Throughout the Firm Futures process Belange was matched with a mentor from Slaughter and May, and they met and discussed progress fortnightly. This helped him focus on next steps.

MC Media London is now branching out into making videos and does wedding shoots and work for magazines. Belange is developing and expanding the company, bringing on board two new photographers and teaching them the trade so they can work independently, increasing business and income whilst Belange focuses more on the business development side of things. They're now working with magazines, spending more time networking and getting work published in the UK and the States. The company has now operated successfully for over three years and Belange is rightly proud of his brand and hard work.

Belange is excited about the future of his company and global opportunities, and is shortly travelling to Congo, where he was born, to expand his business, including work with hotel brands. Belange named his company MCMedia London because he wanted to expand. So look out for MCMedia Africa and MCMedia New York in the future!

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Our modern Community Centre offers a range of flexible events spaces, perfect for meetings, conferences, parties or events for grown-ups and kids alike, from two to 160 people. We take pride in keeping the Centre well-decorated and clean. We're located just off Old Street, EC1, close to the City of London and three tube stations - Old Street, Barbican and Angel.
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About the centre

We own a large Community Centre on the edge of the City of London, a diverse area containing extremes of wealth and poverty. Our modern Community Centre provides a space for local people to gather and socialise, and for us and other organisations to deliver services and activities for the local community at little or no cost.
Garden Room

With its own private entrance and exclusive use of a terrace garden, this spacious and flexible room offers the perfect setting for conferences, seminars, training events and parties. It is a blank canvas to create the right setting and configuration for your event, and benefits from neutral, stylish décor and lots of natural light.
The Loft

The Loft occupies the whole third floor of the Community Centre, and has exclusive use of an entrance (ante) room, kitchen area and toilet, within this spacious and versatile area. It is bright and airy, and ideal for meetings, conferences, training, seminars or less formal events. Its exposed Victorian steel beams and skylight windows offer wonderful views over the roof tops of London.
What we do and who we help

We own a large Community Centre on the edge of the City of London, a diverse area containing extremes of wealth and poverty. Our modern Community Centre provides a space for local people to gather and socialise, and for us and other organisations to deliver services and activities to the local community at low or no cost to them. We also work outside in the community supporting other groups and running community events.
Studio

The Studio is a bright and exciting space for any occasion. Truly unique, this spacious room with its high ceilings and distinctive red walls will provide a striking backdrop to your conference or party. It includes a wall of mirrors with a professional barre for dance classes.
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About the Cookery School

Our stylish, contemporary Cookery School in central London opened in 2012 as a self-funding facility to enable St Luke’s to deliver free or low-cost cookery classes and projects to benefit our community, which are funded by the private hire of the School.