THE co-founder of a rum distillery has criticised the “huge barriers” black women face in business today as she launched a fundraising drive to help her firm.

Jacine Rutasikwa, Britain’s first black female distillery owner after setting up the Matugga Distillery in Livingston, West Lothian, with her husband Paul, has launched the company’s first crowdfunding campaign.

She aims to raise £300,000 which would go towards expanding their team and purchasing additional equipment for the distillery so it can increase production.

The distillery is operating at “full capacity,” Ms Rutasikwa said, as she revealed how the firm plans to become a “cane-to-cask” producer by establishing its own sugar cane plantation in Uganda — her husband’s home country.

Ms Rutasikwa, whose grandparents were part of the post-war Windrush generation who migrated from the Caribbean to Britain, said that there were “barriers” to running a firm as a black woman.

She said: “When starting a business, black entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs and particularly black female entrepreneurs face huge barriers, and often struggle to get to the next phase for a number of reasons — whether it’s access to finance, networks, education or mentorship.

“There are still, sadly, systemic inequalities and individual and institutional biases at play.

“But we’re lucky that since moving to Scotland we’ve encountered a highly supportive community who value our craftsmanship and are as excited about our growth plans as we are.”

Ms Rutasikwa said that it was not common to see black-owned businesses on equity-based crowdfunding platforms and that they were excited to be launching the campaign.