The Business Development Bank of Canada is investing $250 million in “inclusive entrepreneurship”. Women, Indigenous people and black people will be able to benefit from this helping hand announced this Wednesday.
“One-size-fits-all approaches do not work,” explains Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO of BDC, in a press release. “Too many business owners from underrepresented groups continue to face the same obstacles they did a decade ago, or even a generation ago. Despite much progress, we are simply not moving fast enough. »
Thus, the Business Development Bank of Canada has reserved an initial block of $50 million intended for “loans and training” for businesses owned mainly by women, Indigenous people or black people and whose turnover is less than $3 million. “It is the smallest companies and those in the early stages of growth that face the greatest obstacles and generate the least confidence,” explains the BDC.
Then, the BDC Capital investment channel inaugurates “two new platforms of 100 million dollars each”. Both parts of this financial commitment will support the growth of businesses owned by First Nations members on the one hand, and that of businesses owned by Black people on the other.
“The team is in the process of filling certain key positions and is collaborating with stakeholders from the Black and Indigenous communities to establish the objectives and design of the platforms,” we detail in the press release.
The business environment is changing and institutions must adapt to changing demographics, explains the BDC. “The number of business owners in the country has been declining for two decades, the number of businesses run by Indigenous people or Black people is increasing, which counteracts this trend. »
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.