Advocates invest in Black entrepreneurs in Alberta

Damilare Odumosu remembers the challenges of harvesting palm tree fruits as a child on her family farm in Lagos, Nigeria.

Twenty years later, those pain points became the seeds of Odumosu’s latest venture.

CropMind is an agtech company based in Alberta and New Brunswick that automates manual processes in orchards for a growing customer base across North America.

The business expanded with support from a federally funded program designed by the Edmonton Black Business Ventures Association.

“BBVA can help BIPOC founders like me leverage resources, cross cultural barriers, and meet the needs of Canadian and North American customers,” said Odumosu, who founded the company while studying for a master’s degree in Fredericton, Nova Scotia. company, but now resides in Fredericton, New Hampshire. in Calgary.

This is exactly what the federal government has in mind when it launches the Black Entrepreneurs Program in May 2021. The program partners with Black-led business organizations and financial institutions to invest $265 million across Canada.

Funding has ended or will end for most organizations in Alberta in the coming months.

Black Business Ventures is one of six Alberta organizations that make up the Alberta Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Alliance. In total, they received about $15.5 million under the Black Entrepreneur Program to help black businesses get off the ground.

A spokesman for federal Small Business Minister Reggie Valdez said Valdez is looking at how Ottawa can continue to support Black-owned small businesses.

Meanwhile, the Ecosystem Alliance is urging the provincial government to provide new funding to continue its work.

Afrifest is an event in Edmonton that showcases Black entrepreneurs and business owners. (Africa Center)

The alliance says it has developed a blueprint for success that has spawned hundreds of diverse new startups, while many existing businesses have experienced significant growth in sectors including technology, energy, agriculture, finance, real estate, immigration and healthcare. .

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The alliance said businesses received tens of millions of dollars in equity and loans, while Alberta’s international trade expanded with the United States, Africa and Caribbean countries.

The program is designed to help entrepreneurs improve their business acumen in a range of areas, including creating business solutions, accessing resources and credit, building networks, practicing pitches, growing their customer base and coaching.

It has inadvertently opened up a new financial market, with major banks offering specific lines of capital business, said Samuel Juru, executive director of the Africa Center, which is based in Edmonton and also operates in Calgary and Winnipeg. Come support black entrepreneurs.

“We think this [framework] Resonates with the current Alberta government’s core mission around economic development, diversification of the economy, trade and jobs,” said Djurou.

“It’s great that the federal government is providing resources to facilitate this initiative and we think now is the time for the province to get involved.”

The coalition, which also includes the African Canadian Civic Participation Council, Black Women’s Action Canada, Empire Advantage Canada and the BIPOC Foundation, has the data and presented it to Premier Danielle Smith on Feb. 15 Business pitches.

In a post on X after the meeting, Smith said she was “impressed with the organization’s drive to help build businesses in our province.”

When asked by Diversity whether the coalition’s framework would receive provincial funding, Smith suggested the groups apply for Alberta’s Ethnic Culture Grants program, which provides up to $50,000 in funding.

“It creates opportunities to celebrate diversity or opportunities to connect across cultures,” Smith told reporters in early March.

In an email response to CBC, Smith’s press secretary Sam Blackett would not say whether the province plans to fund ABEEA’s program. Blackett listed a range of non-Black-specific supports for small businesses and entrepreneurs in Alberta, such as BizConnect.

Juru said the $50,000 grant is roughly equivalent to the amount needed to start a small to medium-sized business.

“We need to get into serious funding pools and see where entrepreneurs are funded to be able to do what they need to do,” he said.

Alberta’s Black Population Surges

Djoulu said policymakers should look at funding allocations through a different lens because Canada welcomes nearly 500,000 new immigrants each year, largely to address a shortage of skilled labor.

“These are highly educated, entrepreneurial, highly skilled immigrants, and that’s what the country needs,” he said.

Alberta has the third-largest black population of all provinces, behind Ontario and Quebec.

Statistics Canada says Alberta’s black population nearly quadrupled between 2006 and 2021, from 46,965 to 177,940. As of 2021, 64% of black people in Alberta are first-generation newcomers.

Dibo Ali, executive director of the Black Business Ventures Association, which oversees the Seed Technology Accelerator program, said newcomers may not have the collateral or network needed for a new startup.

Ali said a concrete Black business plan is critical to solving the problem.

“These Canadians want to contribute to our economy,” he said.

“That’s what we’re trying to do here: take undercapitalized, underutilized, underrepresented, underinvested, underemployed people and let them contribute to the growth of Canada.”

Dunia Nur said initiatives from Alberta organizations are consistent with the province’s goals of economic growth and diversification. (African Canadian Civic Participation Council)

Dunya Noor, executive director of the Civic Engagement Council, said the six organizations have developed a framework that “promotes the creation and expansion of Black-owned businesses, consistent with the Alberta government’s economic growth and diversity goals.”

She said given Alberta’s rapidly growing black population, it makes economic sense for the province to adopt new policies and resources.

Entrepreneurship graduate

On February 24, a fourth cohort of black entrepreneurs received their diplomas on the stage of Edmonton’s Metro Cinema in front of a crowd that included provincial politicians.

Graduates completed the African Canadian Civic Participation Council’s 25-week ANZA Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Program.

The plan is presented in a film titled ” Chasing freedom. The film shows how marginalized black youth escape racism, the criminalization of poverty, pre-immigration trauma, and the legacies of slavery and colonialism to realize their entrepreneurial dreams.

Ahmed Dubow launches clothing brand Friends You Know through the ANZA Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Programme. (Robinson Carney/Ahmed Dubo)

One of those dreams belongs to clothing brand CEO Ahmed Dubow Friends you know, including embroidery Torbay, Or a long shirt in Lake Louise blue.

“Thanks to @startupedmonton @Anza we were able to turn this idea into a reality,” Dubow wrote on Instagram in March.

“The only way we can thank them for this great opportunity is by working extremely hard to succeed.”

For more stories about the Black experience in Canada—from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community—check out Black in Canada, a CBC program Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)