Community News
Taking Canadian black businesses to the next level
BY MICHAEL THOMAS
October is Small Business Month and it serves as a launching pad for The Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) who is also launching Black Business Week from October 28th to November 2nd.
Black Business Week is all about highlighting the important contributions of black-owned businesses to the Canadian economy. Andria Barrett, president of the CBCC said the organization is excited about the line-up of events that they have planned. From up and coming to well-established businesses, the CBCC President said her organization is dedicated to offering assistance, networking opportunities and showcasing the contributions black businesses are making to the economic engine of this country.
The organization made a successful launch in April. CBCC is now in the process of opening four chapters this fall: Durham Region, Peel Region, GTA, and Edmonton. The Durham Region Chapter launches on Thursday October 24th at VR Planet, 325 Westney Road South, Ajax.
Barrett spoke extensively with Toronto Caribbean Newspaper about this young organization’s goals as well as what they are doing now. “Our goal is to create better business owners who want to do better. What is good for the business owner, is good for their family, is good for the community and the country.”
Toronto Caribbean Newspaper asked Barrett how strong is the black business contribution to the Canadian economy? “One of the things that we struggle with is data, so we are working with Statistics Canada to get more race-based data on the impact that black business owners have on the country. Physically we are underrepresented, so when I look at black-owned business I see us in a lot of service-based businesses. We own a lot of hair salons and restaurants, but if you look at other professions like: architects, developers, clothing designers or manufacturers of food products, how many black people do we have in these spots?”
When asked why she thinks this is happening in the 21st century she said, “We can’t be what we can’t see, so if you are growing up not seeing black engineers, black developers and black architects you may not have those aspirations for yourself.”
As for the goals of this organization, Barret said, “Our plan is to run chapters across the country. We want to have a chapter in every province and territory because we want to unite, support, encourage, advocate and empower business owners in every province.”
The CBCC president said that they are looking for volunteers, mentors, and sponsors from across the country all the time, and anyone who is interested can reach out to the organization. “If you don’t have a business and are planning to start one, we are here to encourage people to take the next step.”
Here is the list of events, entrepreneurs and the keynote speaker.
October 28th – Launching three new initiatives, The Black Chamber Marketplace, a one-stop-shop to purchase everything needed to develop an online presence; The Ethnic Food Incubator Program, assisting ethnic food creators to bring their products to a larger market; The Black Chamber Construction Group, providing business development and advocacy for members in skilled trades
October 29th – Peel Region Chapter Launch, Brampton City Hall, 2 Wellington St. W. 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
October 30th – Celebrating 30 years of Canadian Black Business with a CBCC website blog documenting the economic contributions in Canada
October 31st – Facebook Live with Lola Adeyemi, CEO of It’s Souper and Soniel Gordon, Founder of Sunny Boy Farm
November 2nd – Black Business Panel at The Lucie and Thornton Blackburn Conference Centre 80 Cooperage St. Toronto, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm with special guest Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter
Young Entrepreneur Panel: Osuyi Omorogbe, Tomi Becca, Dwane Matthews
Chamber Entrepreneur Panel: Robert Small, Amoye Henry, Ahmad Bawah, Soniel Gordon, Sherri-Anne Wooley
Keynote Speaker: Vivian Kaye, CEO of Kinky Curly Yaki
The organization can be reached at www.blackchamber.ca