Ten more Black business organizations to receive more than $23 million in investments

Acknowledging that Black Canadian business owners and entrepreneurs make important contributions to the Canadian economy, yet continue to face systemic racism and obstacles in starting and growing their businesses, the Government of Canada said it will these barriers with its first-ever Black Entrepreneurship Program; that will take the form of a $265 million investment to support the long-term success of Black entrepreneurs and business owners.

The announcement was made to celebrate Black History Month by Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business, and Economic Development.

The minister announced new recipients of the Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Fund. Ng was joined by Greg Fergus, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, to the President of the Treasury Board and Chair of the Parliamentary Black Caucus, Nadine Spencer from the Black Business and Professional Association, and Tiffany Callender, CEO of the Federation of African Canadian Economics.

Ten more Black business organizations will receive investments of more than $23 million from the National Ecosystem Fund, which strengthens the entrepreneurship ecosystem for Black entrepreneurs and business owners across Canada. Leaders from these organizations joined the conversation with Minister Ng to share the work they are doing to support Black entrepreneurs from coast to coast to coast.

The Black Entrepreneurship Program is already delivering benefits to Black business owners and entrepreneurs across the country. The Ecosystem Fund, with an overall investment of $100 million, has already approved funding of $92 million for 38 Black-led organizations across the country. These organizations provide mentorship, networking, financial planning and business training for Black entrepreneurs.

Spencer said that “one of the participants in our Boss Women Entrepreneurship Training Program joined BAIDS and used the available resources to develop a business plan, financial statement, and website for her hot sauce brand. Then, through a BAIDS  event designed to help entrepreneurs showcase their products and scale their businesses, Nettie got her product into Loblaws Supermarket, a major achievement that will undoubtedly change her life and that of her family. But without BAIDS, she may have never gotten this opportunity.

She went on to say that the program is working we got 584 Applications, 145 of them have received support, and 439 are currently receiving service or waiting to receive service with this program we can usher in a new era of Black ingenuity, creativity, and excellence in the Black community.