Black Founders: Diverse by Default. Inclusion By Action.
Now, more than ever, it’s time for action. On November 19, we had the pleasure of hosting the second panel discussion of the Black Founders. Diverse by Default. Inclusion by Action. series, in partnership with our friends from L-Spark, Kanata North Business Association, and Invest Ottawa.
Our panel touched on challenges and issues that Black founders face right here at home, and we spoke about the roots of these issues and how to work at dismantling them.
Meet The Panel:
- Ruth-Joy Connell, CEO and Founder, RJC Consulting
- Marie Pierre Faye, CEO and Founder, Faye Beverages
- Russell Coltess, CEO and Founder, SweatCrew
- Samuel Kanza, Founder, Pursuer Apparel, Co-Founder, Produced by Youth
- Tobi Oluwole, CEO and Co-Founder, 3 Skills
These business leaders made it very clear, the work is far from over but by working together we can make more progress than we could ever imagine alone.
As part of this initiative, we have compiled a list of resources to continue progress in the right direction.
Resources
L-Spark
- Destination for Canada’s startup and tech ecosystem to learn, share, plan, execute, measure, adjust, scale and succeed.
Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program
- The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Program uses tax incentives to encourage Canadian businesses of all sizes and in all sectors to conduct research and development (R&D) in Canada.
AfroBiz
- Discover Ottawa’s Black owned businesses.
The E-myth Revisited Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It : Gerber, Michael E.
- Michael Gerber dispels the myths surrounding starting your own business and shows how commonplace assumptions can get in the way of running a business.
Do you have additional resources to add? We want to hear from you! We’d love to continue to grow this toolkit, please reach out to Matt, our Marketing Assistant, at mroukoz@uOttawa.ca
