Shopify is working to help Black startup founders in Canada succeed.
To do so, the Ontario-based e-commerce platform has partnered with Toronto-based DMZ, a tech incubator out of Ryerson University. The aim is to help support entrepreneurship among Black founders in Canada through a new program being called Black Innovation Fellowship.
Black Innovation Initiative was initially announced in 2018 in collaboration with Isaac Olowolafe Jr., a co-founder of asset management firm DreamMaker Ventures, which launched the initiative with a $200,000 donation.
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“We’re committed to changing the face of entrepreneurship because we believe in a future with more voices, not fewer,” said Shavonne Hasfal-Mcintosh, head of diversity and belonging at Shopify, told TechCrunch. “DMZ’s fellowship program will improve access for Black entrepreneurs by providing a new path to success, which is another important way we’re helping independent business owners in Canada turn their big ideas into businesses.”
Shopify and DreamMaker Ventures have contributed capital to the program, which has a total initial fundraising goal of $1 million. The business incubator has worked with 398 startups that have raised nearly $594 million in seed funding since its inception in 2010.
DreamMaker Ventures, the investment arm of DreamMaker Corp., was co-founded by Olowolafe Jr., a Nigerian-born entrepreneur-turned-venture capitalist.
“Through the program, selected founders will receive access to senior growth mentors, investors, experts, workspace, and workshops, which DMZ said were designed to reflect the experience of Black entrepreneurs,” Startup Toronto reported.
For the initiative, selected founders will have access to growth mentors, exclusive workshops designed to reflect the experience of Black entrepreneurs and a dedicated workspace in the heart of downtown Toronto. Participants will also have access to a 350-person network of investors, according to Abdullah Snobar, executive director of the DMZ
tech incubator.
“We realize that in North America, diverse communities still continue to face barriers to access that other communities don’t necessarily face,” Snobar said. “This concept was born to support Black entrepreneurs, and help them build, grow and scale companies. It was also designed to help them build meaningful partnerships and not be impacted because of skin color, background, or where they were raised.”
Importantly, founders will not have to give up equity, Snobar stressed.
“We want to make it as accessible as possible so it’s completely nondilutive,” he said. “Only 10 percent of our community is made up of people who identify as Black founders. We want to see that number double or triple.”
Eventually, the program might expand to the U.S., according to DMZ.
“Dream Maker Ventures touts itself the first Canadian venture capital fund founded by people of color and women, focused on investing in diverse, underrepresented, and underestimated entrepreneurs. It is currently looking to raise a $75 million diversity fund,” Startup Toronto reported.
Applications to the Black Innovation Fellowship can be found at the DMZ’s website.
