Schulich Executive Education Centre Partners with Black-led Organizations
The Government of Canada has announced an investment of close to $3 million for the Black Creek Community Health Centre (BCCHC) and the Black Creek Community Farm, in partnership with the Schulich Executive Education Centre (SEEC), York University’s Innovation York’s YSpace, and TD-Community Engagement Centre, to support Black-Canadian entrepreneurs and businesses in Humber River-Black Creek.
The funding comes as part of the federal government’s first-ever Black Entrepreneurship Program, an investment of more than $400-million to support the long-term success of Black entrepreneurs and business owners in Canada.
Through the program, the Government of Canada is working to address the long-standing barriers Black-Canadian business owners and entrepreneurs face in starting and growing their businesses, which has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding will be delivered through the National Ecosystem Fund in North York, which was created to strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem for Black entrepreneurs and business owners across Canada. In Southern Ontario, FedDev is administering the fund.
With the recommended funding of $2,999,431, BCCHC in partnership with York University, will launch an agri-food program called the Black Entrepreneurship Alliance (BEA), offering a full spectrum of education, mentorship and acceleration supports to Black entrepreneurs seeking to establish or grow agri-food businesses.
Building off the success of the YSpace food and beverage accelerator, SEEC’s renowned leadership curriculum, and TD-CEC’s continued commitment to community engagement, BEA will support more than 350 entrepreneurs over the course of the next three years.
“SEEC has provided leadership development to many organizations in Canada and around the world, but joining this program to engage with entrepreneurs from our own community is particularly exciting,” shared Rami Mayer, Executive Director of Schulich Executive Education Centre. “We are especially proud to be working with the Black community in Black Creek in our collective efforts to contribute and make a real change with this much needed initiative as we help mitigate the unique difficulties they face; we look forward to seeing the BEA (Black Entrepreneurship Alliance) become the success we know it can be.”