The five-year extension will expand access to credit, mentoring and data through three programs.
The federal government is investing $189 million to save Black Entrepreneurship Program will last another five years.
“When Black entrepreneurs have access to capital, mentorship and trusted data, they turn ideas into jobs and community prosperity.”
Speeches by Valdez, Minister of Women's Affairs and Gender Equality
Initiative launched with $221 million in 2021 to provide funding and resources to Black entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized business owners. It provides funding, training, mentoring and networking opportunities through three programs: National Ecosystem Fund, Black Enterprise Loan Fundand the Black Enterprise Knowledge Center (BEH).
The renewed funding will ensure capital flows through programs, expand advisory support and improve data collection.
The federal government's regional development agencies, including Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) and the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), have been allocated up to $105.4 million to expand their geographic coverage Ecosystem Fund. FedDev Ontario recently invested $2.4 million to support Black Entrepreneurship Alliance incubator programs.
The Black Enterprise Lending Center will allocate up to $67 million to provide loans of up to $250,000 to Black business owners and entrepreneurs across the country. Fund Administrator Federation of African-Canadian Economics (FACE) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) will also continue to collaborate on the project. Along with US non-profit organization Black Ambition, FACE has awarded $200,000 to Black founders as part of the project Melamoon's first pitch competition earlier this month.
BDC's venture arm has created its own $100 million Black Entrepreneurs Fund last year. In March the organization Jason Baybokas auditions determine the investment focus and criteria of the fund.
CONNECTED: FedDev Ontario Pledges Millions to Support Black Entrepreneurs
BEHled by Carleton University's Sprott School of Business and the Dream Legacy Foundation, will receive up to $7.5 million to conduct a large-scale qualitative and quantitative study of Black entrepreneurship in Canada. The study maps Black business ecosystems across the country to identify critical gaps where Black entrepreneurs face the most challenges.
“When Black entrepreneurs have access to capital, mentorship and trusted data, they turn ideas into jobs and community prosperity,” Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechia Valdez said in a statement. “This $189 million investment in revamping the Black Enterprise Program will help more Black entrepreneurs get started, scale up and build a stronger economy for all Canadians.”
The updated programs represent diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the Canadian private sector. fall to the side of the road as a result of large-scale rollback in the United States. Earlier this year, Canadian tech giant Shopify disbanded the fair trade team and removed the webpage for its One Million Black Businesses initiative. On February 1, at the start of Black History Month, the company also blocked the Slack program's support channel for Black business owners.
The government says the Black Enterprise Development Program has supported more than 24,000 black entrepreneurs across the country with 801 loans worth more than $70.6 million approved under the Black Enterprise Loan Facility.
Disclosure: Good Future, the majority owner of BetaKit, is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.
Image provided Unsplash. Photo by the author Ivaria Inc.
