Ottawa, 29 February 2024 – Today, Senator Amina Gerba and Senator Colin Deacon published a new report entitled “Progress of Black Entrepreneurship Initiatives“, which seeks to take stock of the various initiatives designed to support Black entrepreneurs, to assess their impacts, and to explore areas for enhancement. The key findings in the report stem from insights shared by organizations involved in the federal government’s Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund (BELF), by some of the ‘Big Six’ banks, and by other organizations advancing Black entrepreneurship initiatives.

KEY FINDINGS

• The conditions for success needed to access loans and other financial products are too often absent among Black entrepreneurs. One of the biggest challenges identified by the stakeholders interviewed was the lack of financial and business literacy on the part of entrepreneurs applying for a loan.
• Systemic biases still exist and affect lending and adjudication processes for loans to Black entrepreneurs. This is true for the Black community, but also across society as traditional methods rely almost solely on the use of bank-owned financial products.
• Access to private investment for Black entrepreneurs in Canada is still relatively absent, despite the tremendous opportunities in this space. Institutional and financial support is needed to support Venture Capital (VC) firms working to bridge the investment gap and retain talented and innovative Black businesses in Canada.

Quotes

“Investing in the success of Black entrepreneurs is not only a social imperative, but also essential for economic growth and business opportunity. We must continue prioritizing initiatives that dismantle systemic biases and enable Black businesses to fully participate in our entrepreneurial landscape. Their continued success is crucial to unlocking the success of our entire economy.” –  Senator Amina Gerba

“Our collective economic prosperity lies in unlocking the entrepreneurial and innovative strength of our diverse entrepreneurs. There has been some promising progress, but collective efforts need be sustained, evidence-driven, and targeted to effectively address systemic barriers faced by Black entrepreneurs. We must continue identifying best practices and effective strategies to foster a truly inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem.” – Senator Colin Deacon

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For more information:

Office of the Honourable Amina Gerba | 343-552-2499 | Amina.Gerba@sen.parl.gc.ca
Office of the Honourable Colin Deacon | 613-943-3735 | Colin.Deacon@sen.parl.gc.ca