The loan that opens the door

On September 9, 2020, the Government of Canada announced the Black Entrepreneurship Program, worth nearly $221 million with the participation of Canadian financial institutions. It had three components: up to $53 million for Black-led organizations offering mentorship, training and access to financing; a loan fund offering $25,000 to $250,000; and up to $6.5 million for a knowledge hub tasked with documenting barriers and successes.

The Prime Minister acknowledged at the time that the pandemic had exposed inequalities that disproportionately affected Black Canadians. Five years later, in October 2025, Ottawa renewed the program with $189 million over five years. By then, 801 loans had been approved, worth more than $70.6 million, and more than 24,000 Black entrepreneurs had received support.

The program rests on a simple idea: talent is everywhere, but access to capital is not. By entrusting part of the support to organizations rooted in the communities themselves, it bets on trust and connection. It is a form of Ubuntu on the scale of a country: when one entrepreneur succeeds, her employees, her suppliers and her neighbourhood move forward with her.