BY PAUL JUNOR
On Saturday, November 19th, 2022, the first cohort of the Festival Management Committee (FMC) Building Black Entrepreneurs Program graduated. The graduation was the culmination of a ten-month period starting from January 2022 and ending in October 2022.
The graduates received a Certificate of Completion awarded in partnership with George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology. In this Black Business Management Course, nine courses were offered. They include: Marketing, Business Law, Financial Management, Technology, Human Resource, Procurement, Networking, and Business Planning. The program culminated with a capstone project in which business entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to funders who assess their pitch with feedback.
The Building Black Entrepreneurs Program (BBEP) is an innovative and creative program that is tailored to empower Black entrepreneurship, and to expand its contributions to the economy through the creation of: wealth building, social capital and generation of wealth.
The BBEP is specifically tailored to empower entrepreneurs who have an interest in the Caribbean Festival Network by providing opportunities for sustainable business growth, development, and success that will transcend the carnival time.
The BBEP is free to entrepreneurs in sectors related to the festival such as:
- Arts, culture, entertainment, musicians and artists
- Food and beverage, hospitality, and tourism
- Health, beauty, and wellness
- Retail, manufacturers, service providers, and technology
- Has access to technology to attend
- Lives in Canada
The BBEP nurtures entrepreneurs in four main ways:
Providing business management training
This is made possible through customized and culturally appropriate business training, which covers a range of diverse online courses from financial literacy to brand development taught by qualified teachers and professional business experts.
Supporting relationship building
The fostering of key relationships between industry experts to mentor and work with entrepreneurs to create new networks, resources, and services for each unique business. Online and in-person symposiums are established to connect with: great speakers, successful Black entrepreneurs and those with skill sets that are invaluable.
Business advising and client support
The staff of the BBEP is uniquely trained to focus on the entrepreneurial, design and delivery of the program that ensures the success of diverse entrepreneurs by raising the entrepreneurial mindset to foster good business practices.
Creating business opportunities
The BBEP provides vending, marketing, and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs to put themselves and their businesses out to the market.
The staff of the BBEP consists of a professional support team that includes Michelle Lochan (Managing Director), Yvette Martin (Program Manager), and Anthony Berot, (Technology Manager). The BBEP is made possible through funding from the Government of Canada’s National Ecosystem Fund’s Black Entrepreneurship Program.
There is an expectation that more than three hundred Black entrepreneurs will be trained over the three-year period of the funding.
Anyone interested in the Building Black Entrepreneurs Program can check:
Website: https://bbep.ca
Facebook:bbep.ca
Instagram:bbep.ca
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