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Virtual summit aims to help London's Black entrepreneurs get support

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There’s a gap in support for entrepreneurs of colour in London and Derrick Berney wants to do something about it.

The local entrepreneur, founder of three businesses, has created an entrepreneurship program to help Black businesspeople in the city connect with services that can help them, he said.

“I am doing it because I am a Black entrepreneur and I have been getting support, there are opportunities, and some people are not aware of the support that is out there,” said Berney.

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A member of the RH Accelerator in London that helps small businesses scale up, he has accessed programs tapping into such business essentials as developing an e-commerce platform and moving business online.

He wants to ensure Black businesses are aware of such programs. While many federal support programs are available for tech businesses, some Black-owned enterprises sell into the service sector, where there are fewer programs available to help them grow.

Berney has created the Black Entrepreneurship Virtual Summit, which will feature talks on how to access support, and create a forum for a community.

The event, to be held Feb. 25, from 4-6 p.m., will include presentations from businesspeople, officials with federal business funding agency FedDev, and musician Wesley Williams, known as Maestro Fresh-Wes.

“(The summit’s) mission is to empower more successful Black entrepreneurs through online learning and networking events, to bridge gaps,” said Berney.

“There is a big need. Restaurants and retail benefit from going online, we want to do more with this,” he added. “A lot of incubators focus on technology. If a business is not eligible for traditional incubators, if they make and sell cocoa butter, or open an African supermarket, they still need online support, to open e-commerce.”

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London Economic Development Corp. has lent its support to the summit, and while learning how to access programs and online support is critical, its value is also in creating a forum for a community to grow, said Kapil Lakhotia, chief executive of the LEDC.

“It is a different talent pool that can feel disenfranchised. We are delighted to support them. It is important in building a sustainable, inclusive economy,” Lakhotia said.

“It is an opportunity to engage diversity, to ensure service delivery captures a wide audience.”

Ibukun Afolabi, a physiotherapist and businessperson who owns and operates Mama’s Physio, plans to attend the virtual summit, and looks forward to hearing from others like her.

“Any event that puts Black entrepreneurs together to help them get support, I am all for,” she said.

“There are things that affect all businesspeople regardless of colour, but for a racialized person there are biases and preconceived ideas they also need to overcome. I have faced discrimination and not being taken seriously, as a Black woman trying to run a business.”

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She opened Mama’s Physio, which focuses on pelvic floor physiotherapy, in 2013.

Berney is the founder of Mien Tzui, a virtual meeting software that allows individual breakout sessions in online “meeting rooms,” he said.

“I have always been in media products and when COVID hit, it halted everything. Events stopped. I saw the need for something other than Zoom where you can network,” he said.

“You can have 500 people on a call and you can single someone out,” for a private chat. “That is what Mien Tzui does.”

He also has founded Mobiletization, a marketing technology firm, and Cannabis Wiki, a website offering articles, podcasts and videos about cannabis use.

In September, the federal government announced the $221-million Black Entrepreneurship Program to support Black-owned businesses, funded by financial institutions and $93 million over four years from Ottawa. It will offer:

  • Up to $53 million for capital, mentorship, financial planning services and business training.
  • Up to $33.3 million to provide loans of $25,000 to $250,000 for Black business owners and entrepreneurs; another $128 million will be available in lending support from financial institutions.
  • Up to $6.5 million to create and sustain a new Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, run by Black-led community and business groups, and help identify barriers and opportunities facing Black entrepreneurs.

ndebono@postmedia.com

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