Banke Agbaje Sacred Heart Healthcare Greenwich Business 2026

Key Points

• Founder’s Journey: Banke Agbaje, a former lawyer retrained as a nurse, launched Sacred Heart Healthcare to deliver personalised community care across Greenwich and Kent.
• Council Support: The venture was created with assistance from the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Community Micro-Enterprise Programme, which provides free advice, mentoring, and guidance on regulation, insurance, and business development.
• Business Expansion: Sacred Heart Healthcare now employs a team of five dedicated staff members, enabling local residents to live independently with dignity in their own homes.
• Future Cooperative Transition: Agbaje has secured dedicated funding to explore transforming her company into a cooperative, allowing employees and stakeholders an equal voice in governance and operational decisions.
• Community Impact: Local council leaders have highlighted how micro-enterprises build stronger neighbourhoods, deliver flexible care, and generate sustainable local employment.

Greenwich (South London News) October 14, 2026 – A Greenwich entrepreneur who transitioned from a legal career to nursing has publicly urged local residents to utilise council-backed business support schemes to launch their own community-focused care enterprises. Banke Agbaje, the founder of Sacred Heart Healthcare, established her home care provider with direct backing from the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Community Micro-Enterprise Programme. The firm currently employs five staff members and delivers tailored care services across Greenwich and Kent, supporting local residents to maintain independence and dignity within their own homes.

How Has Banke Agbaje Built Her Community Healthcare Venture?

The establishment of Sacred Heart Healthcare stems from Agbaje’s personal interactions with local care services and her subsequent desire to give back to the surrounding community. Having initially trained and worked as a lawyer, Agbaje chose to pivot her professional path after experiencing the local care system firsthand as a service user. Inspired by the care she received, she retrained as a qualified nurse to gain the requisite clinical expertise needed to establish a dedicated care provider.

Following her formal retraining, Agbaje accessed the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Community Micro-Enterprise Programme to assist with the operational set-up of Sacred Heart Healthcare. The enterprise has since scaled its operations, building a team of five care professionals who deliver individualized, home-based support services across both Greenwich and the neighbouring county of Kent.

Reflecting on her business development journey, Agbaje noted that

“Starting my own business wasn’t always easy, but the support I received gave me the confidence to grow. If you have a passion for helping people, don’t underestimate what you can achieve.”

What Support Does the Greenwich Community Micro-Enterprise Programme Provide?

The Royal Borough of Greenwich operates the Community Micro-Enterprise Programme as a free resource aimed at residents seeking to turn care-focused initiatives into commercially viable, sustainable businesses. The scheme is tailored specifically for individuals looking to set up micro-providers offering care and support services to local community members.

Through the initiative, prospective business owners receive comprehensive practical advice, ongoing mentoring, and expert guidance. The curriculum covers essential operational criteria, including compliance with regulatory frameworks, acquiring proper insurance coverage, and mastering long-term business development techniques. The initiative aims to reduce the barriers to entry for aspiring healthcare entrepreneurs by offering tailored assistance through every stage of business creation.

How Will Sacred Heart Healthcare Transition Into a Cooperative?

Sacred Heart Healthcare is preparing to undertake a structural evolution into a cooperative business model. Agbaje has secured specific funding dedicated to exploring this operational transition, which will alter how the company is managed and structured.

The proposed cooperative structure aims to democratise decision-making across the organisation. Under this model, all employees and stakeholders involved in the day-to-day operations of Sacred Heart Healthcare will be granted an equal voice and active participation in determining how the enterprise is governed and developed moving forward.

Highlighting the wider value of such local initiatives, Councillor Mariam Lolavar, Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care and Communities, stated that

“Banke’s story shows what’s possible when local people are supported to turn their passion and experience into something that benefits their community.”

Councillor Lolavar further emphasised the broader societal impact of these ventures, adding that

“Community micro-enterprises provide personalised, flexible support that helps people live independently while creating local jobs and stronger neighbourhoods.”

Background of the Greenwich Community Micro-Enterprise Initiative

The establishment and growth of small-scale care providers in London form part of a wider strategic shift by local authorities toward decentralised, community-led adult social care models. Local councils across the United Kingdom face growing demographic pressures, an aging population, and increased demand for domiciliary care services. Traditional, large-scale social care procurement models often struggle to provide customized, highly flexible care tailored to individual resident needs.

To address these challenges, local government authorities have increasingly turned to micro-enterprises—businesses employing eight or fewer full-time staff—to bridge the gap in local care provision. Programs such as the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Community Micro-Enterprise Programme were designed to lower the regulatory and financial hurdles that frequently discourage skilled individuals from starting independent care practices. By providing free advice on complex regulatory standards, liability insurance, and business sustainability, local councils aim to foster a resilient network of micro-providers capable of delivering specialized, person-centred care while simultaneously stimulating the local economy through job creation.

Prediction: How This Development Can Affect Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Local Care Recipients

This ongoing development is likely to have significant, positive ramifications for both prospective local entrepreneurs and social care recipients within Greenwich and surrounding areas.

For Aspiring Local Entrepreneurs

• Reduced Risk of Entry: The demonstrated success of Sacred Heart Healthcare provides a clear blueprint for local residents considering self-employment in the care sector. Free council mentoring lowers financial and operational barriers, encouraging more individuals with background expertise in nursing, social work, or personal care to launch independent businesses.
• Adoption of Alternative Business Models: Agbaje’s exploration of a cooperative model may serve as a testing ground for employee-owned care enterprises in London. If successful, this structure could inspire other micro-enterprises to adopt shared governance models, resulting in higher job satisfaction, improved worker retention, and greater financial equity for frontline care staff.

For Social Care Recipients and the Broader Community

• Enhanced Personalised Care Options: As more residents are encouraged to establish micro-enterprises through council assistance, care recipients in Greenwich and Kent will benefit from a broader, more diverse selection of local, flexible, and person-centred care providers.
• Easing Pressure on Public Services: A growing network of sustainable home-care micro-providers helps prevent hospital admissions and enables elderly or vulnerable residents to live safely in their own homes for longer. This, in turn, helps relieve structural strains on local Adult Social Care budgets and the National Health Service (NHS).