TORONTO — The Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) is leading a 10-week program for Black food entrepreneurs called the #BlackFoodEnergy Entrepreneurship Accelerator, in partnership with DoorDash and Spring Activator.
The program, also backed by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev), is designed to help Black owners and entrepreneurs grow their businesses, build a strong culinary brand and address challenges they face in day-to-day operations, such as financial management, brand development, customer acquisition and employee retention. The accelerator includes a custom curriculum that includes one-on-one consulting, mentorship and access to an ecosystem of resources for business fundamentals. The program is open to Black-owned or operated restaurants, catering companies and retail food businesses within the Greater Toronto Area.
The seven recipients are Inside Lagos Kitchen, Pier 120, Classic Juice, Ago’s Boat – Fish and Chips, Boukan, Hasco Ltd and Honey Soul Food. CBCC mentors include Doug Minter, Danny Stone, Toshiba Billings, Diacre Bavishime, Denise Gillard, Sean De Freatis and Dr. Vibe.
The Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce worked closely with DoorDash to fund all seven entrepreneurs with a full scholarship to this program. This partnership permits the participating entrepreneurs to gain access to a new network and receive professional mentorship from industry and community members. Overall, the program shares lessons on ways to open an existing business to new revenue streams, including partnering with DoorDash.
“At the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce, we focus on building resilience, and fostering and promoting the Canadian Black Business Communities. As an addition to our existing Elevate Black Business Project (EBBP) programs, we are excited to partner with DoorDash to provide the #BlackFoodEnergy Entrepreneurship Accelerator which seeks to give Black entrepreneurs in the food industry, both new and seasoned, the resources they need to grow their companies,” says Minter, Elevate program manager, Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce.
“At DoorDash, we have made it our overall mission to empower local communities across Canada. Our #BlackFoodEnergy platform is an extension of that promise, and that is why we are so excited to be partnering with the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) to expand opportunities for Black food entrepreneurs and restauranteurs. We’re aiming to level the playing field and empower them with access to critical industry and business knowledge and know-how, whether that is around day-to-day tasks or how to reach more consumers,” says Shilpa Arora, general manager, DoorDash Canada.
