The latest press and media coverage about the BOF.
17 December 2021
University of British Columbia and Hogan’s Alley Society have teamed up to help increase vaccination rates within the province’s Black community. A health survey that includes Black Opportunity Fund as one of the co-partners of the report, shines a spotlight on the numbers.
17 December 2021
Black Opportunity Fund continues to work hard to combat anti-Black racism in the Canadian healthcare system. BOF board director and co-chair of the BOF Health Task Force, Dr. Ato Sekyi-Otu, shares his insight on this in The Hill Times.
7 October 2021
7 October 2021
21 July 2021
Black Opportunity Fund co-founders Dennis Mitchell and Charmain Emerson were interviewed for this story about the challenges of accessing Black capital and creating wealth within the Black community.
29 June 2021
Today we celebrate the 1st anniversary of the Black Opportunity Fund with a new opportunity in education. Through partnership with The University of British Columbia, we’re proud to announce our first scholarship program to help support Black Canadian students begins today.
26 May 2021
Intentionality is crucial to building a more inclusive society. Hear more on this from BOF co-founder, Colin Lynch, in a recent interview on The Close with BNN Bloomberg.
5 May 2021
Craig Wellington, Executive Director of BOF, comments on the recent federal budget and measures intended to help Black communities in National Post.
28 April 2021
Martine St-Victor, co-founder of the Black Opportunity Fund, was recently interviewed on CTV News by Mutsumi Takahashi about entrepreneurship in black communities.
19 March 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified disparities in our socio-economic and political systems that have impacted women entrepreneurs around the world. Black women entrepreneurs are facing an even greater burden—largely due to systemic inequality, discrimination, and lack of access to needed supports.
Charmain Emerson, member of the BOF board of directors, participated in one of the round tables, that were hosted by the Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA), Casa Foundation, de Sedulous Women Leaders, and the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) to discuss the state of Black women entrepreneurship in Canada.
This report sheds light on the state of Black women entrepreneurship, summarizes the discussions held during the virtual roundtables, and shares the recommendations derived during the roundtable discussions.
18 March 2021
Black Opportunity Fund co-founder, Ray Williams, sits down with Meres Weche for a podcast interview on his show, Afropolitan Dialogues by AfroToronto.com. Click here to Listen to the podcast interview.
13 March 2021
13 March 2021
How can I describe the tragedy unfolding? There’s a train barrelling down the tracks toward a small group of Edmontonians and they’re not jumping out of the way.
I’m writing, of course, about the COVID-19 vaccine and the threat of a variant-driven third wave. Every day, 11,000 more Albertans are getting their doses of life-saving vaccine. But Black, Latin American and Indigenous Albertans are least likely to be among them.
13 March 2021
With concern growing that Black Canadians are reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine despite being disproportionately more likely than other groups to contract the disease, health care workers knew they had to address their community directly.
25 February 2021
OPINION: This country will not be able to “build back better” if we don’t tear down the barriers preventing Black Canadians from contributing to economic prosperity
By Colin Lynch – Published on Feb 25, 2021
21 January 2021
We have 51 co-founders of the Black Opportunity Fund. Here’s a spotlight on Colin Lynch, who was recently appointed to the inaugural Board of Directors.
5 January 2021
A Dec. 17 webinar — introduced by KingSett chief operating officer Anna Kennedy, moderated by REALPAC chief executive officer Michael Brooks and featuring a five-person panel — focused on the Black Opportunity Fund, the BlackNorth Initiative and actions that can be taken by companies to advance the cause.
15 December 2020
Nadine Sparks, owner of Unity Wigs & Hair Services in Dartmouth, N.S., was just getting her business off the ground prior to the pandemic. She was gaining clientele, establishing her name in the community and things were really starting to come together.
Sparks has not been approved for any government funding during the pandemic, and her salon isn’t the only Black-owned business in that situation.
5 November 2020
Investors across Canada are eager to learn more about the fund. Dennis Mitchell breaks it down in an interview with the Uncommon Sense Investor at Davis Rea:
1 November 2020
We’ve heard from hundreds who attended the Black Business in Canada Town Hall on October 28th, that systemic discrimination in the banking industry, is a major hurdle faced by Black entrepreneurs when it comes to securing capital.
CBC producer, James Donne, took a closer look at this issue and acknowledged Black Opportunity Fund as one of the solutions to tackling this problem.
14 October 2020
The Black Opportunity Fund was created to combat anti-Black racism in Canada. Co-founder, Colin Lynch, tells BNN Bloomberg exactly how it plans to accomplish its mission.
11 October 2020
Ray Williams, co-founding director of BOF lists the many reasons he is thankful for the Black community’s past and present contributions to Canadian life, and how our futures can be brighter still.
1 October 2020
BOF’s, Colin Lynch, discusses the role of strategic partnerships in building and sustaining a booming Black business network of communities.
1 October 2020
Ray Williams, co-founding director of BOF, is on a shortlist of fundholders being lauded for philanthropy and advocacy in the name of racial justice.
1 October 2020
BOF’s Dennis Mitchell, speaks at RBC Wealth Management panel event sharing his perspectives on how business owners and leaders can cultivate diversity & inclusion in the workplace.
