When I arrived in Quebec from my native Cameroon in 1986, I sensed early on that entrepreneurship would be my path. Eager to start my own business, I naturally turned to financial institutions for initial funding. However, I quickly realized that bringing my ideas to fruition would not be as easy as I had imagined.

Early in the process, I was asked if I had a credit history and the score associated with it. As a newcomer, I obviously had none. I had to be patient. With time and a lot of determination, I was finally able to get a loan and bring my first projects to life.

When I had proven myself, I went back to the bank to apply for another loan, this time on a larger scale. I was told: “Mrs. Gerba, do you think you have the capacity to manage such a large sum?”

One might think these anecdotes belong to the past. But systemic barriers for immigrants remain a very real problem today, particularly for Black entrepreneurs, even though we’ve come a long way since my arrival.

Some of those barriers were revealed in a cross-Canada survey commissioned in 2021 by my esteemed colleague Senator Colin Deacon and the African Canadian Senate Group. For example, 76% of Black entrepreneurs surveyed said their skin colour was a barrier to business success in Canada. What’s more, only 19% of those surveyed trusted their financial institution to do what was best for them or their community.

Public authorities, particularly at the federal level, have taken up the issue. Emblematic measures include the Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) launched in 2021, which made $265 million available. For the time being, however, this initiative is set to end on March 31, 2025. In addition to the BEP, banks and other organizations have set up various programs to tackle the difficulties faced by Black entrepreneurs.

An ecosystem has thus developed around this social issue. Fragile yet dynamic and innovative, it deserved special attention to better understand how it works, its strengths and weaknesses, and the possibilities for improvement. The African Canadian Senate Group undertook this task, along with Senator Deacon.

Over the course of several months, we interviewed representatives from some of Canada’s “Big Six” banks, venture capital funds, not-for-profit groups and key public players. Our study — without claiming to be exhaustive — enabled us to take the pulse of a network of players guided by the same idea: to give Black entrepreneurs the same chances of success as others.

The study’s many findings are illuminating. The availability and accessibility of capital remains a central problem for Black entrepreneurs, but our survey also showed that it’s not enough to simply increase the funds available. In fact, the various players we met often highlighted their difficulty in distributing funds efficiently and quickly.

The cause: the lack of financial literacy among entrepreneurs seeking support. As a result, it was stressed that it is vital to link the granting of funds to capacity-building for recipients — before, during and after the disbursement of aid. One of our study’s key recommendations is to provide greater support to community organizations that offer ongoing, personalized assistance to Black entrepreneurs. This is one of the keys to the problem.

Although not sufficient in itself, the impact of the initiatives deployed is also one of the conditions for their success. In the case of the BEP, there is undeniably room for improvement; many of those interviewed called for a similar program to be made permanent and for a significant increase in the funds allocated. However, this is not the only way of increasing the funds available.

We also became aware of the lack of access to private investment for Black entrepreneurs, despite the incredible opportunities in this area — particularly in terms of venture capital. In the United States, between 1995 and 2019, venture capital funding went to just 0.5% of startups, but these companies accounted for 47% of initial public offerings.

It’s up to us to take strong measures to prevent our Black entrepreneurs from opting for other horizons to develop their businesses and, more broadly, to help combat the decline in the number of entrepreneurs in our country over the past 20 years.

There are many possibilities for improving the lot of Black entrepreneurs. Implementing them requires two things: awareness of the obstacles they face and the will to overcome them.

Senator Amina Gerba represents the Rigaud division of Quebec in the Senate.

This article was published in The Hill Times on March 11, 2024.