Black Canadian business owners and entrepreneurs make important contributions to the Canadian economy, yet they continue to face systemic barriers in starting and growing their businesses. The Government of Canada is working to address these long-standing, systemic barriers with its first-ever Black Entrepreneurship Program.
Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, highlighted the achievement of important milestones for the Black Entrepreneurship Program. Speaking at a Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub event as part of Black History Month celebrations, the Minister noted that, since its launch in 2021, the program has helped more than 5,000 Black business owners and entrepreneurs get mentorship, business training and financing to help their businesses grow and succeed-now and into the future.
During her remarks, Minister Ng pointed to the success of the program's three components. Delivered by the non-profit organization FACE, the Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund-a $165 million investment from the government, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Vancity and Alterna Savings-has provided financial support to hundreds of Black-owned businesses through loans totalling more than $30 million. The National Ecosystem Fund, through its 43 delivery organizations, has helped more than 5,000 Black entrepreneurs get mentorship, business training and financial planning advice so they can grow their businesses.
The Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, announced just over a year ago, is well on its way to delivering key research and data that will help identify barriers to success and opportunities for growth for owners of new and existing Black businesses across the country. In November 2022, the Knowledge Hub held its first research symposium, a successful event which helped identify gaps that the hub looks to address through its ongoing work.
The Black Entrepreneurship Program is part of a whole-of-government approach to address systemic barriers in the financing and entrepreneurship ecosystems by co-developing programs to better support Black entrepreneurs on their road to success.
