How Beyoncé donated $10,000 to Nigerian siblings' London restaurant

Temi Iwalaiye 09:28 - 27 June 2023

Beyonce at her renaissance concert/Emeka and Ifeyinwa recipient of the grant [Instagram/hotdiner]

Chuku's, a London-based restaurant described as the first Nigerian tapas restaurant in the world, was chosen as one of 10 small companies in London to receive £8,000 ($10,168) in support from Beyonce’s BeyGOOD philanthropic organization.

The famous singer and performer, Beyoncé Knowles has committed herself to supporting black-owned businesses by donating $1 million to the cause. As part of the initiative, she generously donated £8,000 ($10,168) to a Nigerian tapas restaurant.

Emeka and Ifeyinwa Frederik are the brothers and sisters who own the restaurant. Despite receiving numerous five-star ratings when they opened in early 2020, Chuku's faced multiple challenges such as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and the cost-of-living crisis which affects disposable income and propensity to spend. They had also fallen behind on their energy payments at the time the application for the grant was made.

In 2022, the pair announced that they had started a "Six Week Charge" on the Instagram page of their restaurant in order to assure the survival of their business through 2023. The siblings wanted to reserve 600 bookings or 100 bookings per week. Though they had some support and reached their target, they still struggled.

They serve egusi soup and pounded yam, jollof rice, moi moi, rice pancakes called sinasir in Northern Nigeria, cassava fries, adalu, caramel kuli kuli chicken wings as well as other Nigerian and intercontinental cuisines.

As part of her Renaissance World Tour, Beyoncé has established a $1 million fund to assist small black-owned businesses in communities where she is performing that have been adversely impacted by economic inequality.

The Fredericks consider this a remarkable accomplishment as Chuku's was one of 500 London-based companies that applied for funding from BeyGOOD's Black Parade Route Impact initiative.