A $20 million venture capital fund based in Toronto is coming to Montreal to give a boost to entrepreneurs from the black community. Its leaders hope to change mentalities and ensure that more investors come to support diversity.
“We had a lot of visibility on the English side. But if we consider that 30% of the black population of Canada is in Quebec, in addition to the fact that I myself grew up in Montreal, it is important for us to have a presence”, underlines in an interview with The duty Lise Birikundavyi, co-founder and managing partner of BKR Capital.
Founded in June 2021, the company presents itself as the first Canadian venture capital fund to help entrepreneurs in the black community. Its mission is “to invest in companies founded by a team where at least 25% of the founders are black” in the technology sector.
“Our goal is for approximately 30% of our portfolio to be in Quebec,” says Lise Birikundavyi. In view of the opening of its office in Montreal in Espace CDPQ, a partnership has been created with HEC Montreal to help the fund support young French-speaking companies. BKR Capital can also count on the financial support of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), through Teralys Capital, as well as Fondaction, which will commit an amount of $4.5 million.
Through its activities, BKR Capital hopes to give more opportunities to the black community. “It is often much more difficult to have access to certain business opportunities when you are part of a minority, which includes the need to raise funds, underlines Lise Birikundavyi, supporting studies. There is an unconscious bias when investing, especially in venture capital. Investors will trust people who look like them more. »
This creates disparities. She adds that there is not a lot of diversity among fund managers. “We are working on that too,” she slips. The amount that BKR Capital manages, $20 million, is very small, she points out. With her partner, Isaac Olowolafe, she hopes to demonstrate to the market that “it is worth looking elsewhere” and to be “a little more innovative in the search for investments”.
“We were often asked if we were going to have enough contractors to fulfill our objective. And since we launched our activities in June, we have received 200 pitches of black entrepreneurs in the tech world in Canada. It’s a lot, and it shows that these are worlds that are not connected. We want to be that connection,” she says.
There is an unconscious bias when investing, especially in venture capital. Investors will trust people who look like them more.
BKR Capital ultimately wants to support 18 innovative companies over the next four years in Canada. “We invest in companies relatively early, at the pre-seed and seed stage. Often, these are people who already have entrepreneurial experience. They know what problem they want to solve, and already know how difficult it is to be an entrepreneur, underlines Lise Birikundavyi. We try to support real entrepreneurs and business models that have exponential growth potential. »
In Quebec, BKR Capital will make its first investment in Goodee, an online retailer specializing in home furniture and accessories, lifestyle and sustainable design. The company is certified “B Corp”, which means that it meets high standards in terms of the environment, transparency and governance.