After immigrating to Canada from Kenya with dreams of starting her own business, entrepreneur Jackee Kasandy soon concluded that Canadian banks weren91裸聊视频檛 keen on opening their vaults to folks like her.
Kasandy, founder of the non-profit Black Entrepreneurs and Businesses of Canada Society, said she faced many roadblocks from Canadian lending institutions as she sought funding.
Now, Kasandy wants other Black entrepreneurs to have a leg up when starting out, holding a contest with a $25,000 prize for Black entrepreneurs with big ideas and small bank balances.
Rather than requiring entrants to have full business plans with their pitches, the society91裸聊视频檚 Black Pitch Contest calls on people who self-identify as Black to submit a short video outlining their ideas.
After receiving nearly 150 entries, the society whittled the field down to five finalists, two of them based in British Columbia.
Before founding the society, Kasandy said she had many strikes against her in the eyes of banks, as an immigrant who didn91裸聊视频檛 own a home.
Without collateral to get a loan, she scraped and saved to eventually open her store on Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 Granville Island, selling fair-trade, handmade products by artists from her native Kenya.
91裸聊视频淚 used my savings, my credit card, my RRSP, all of that stuff to start the business,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 have any family here. It91裸聊视频檚 not like I can go to my uncle and my auntie, my mom, and borrow some money. I91裸聊视频檓 an immigrant.91裸聊视频�
The banking system, she said, doesn91裸聊视频檛 value people and their ideas if they91裸聊视频檙e not wealthy or don91裸聊视频檛 own homes.
Kasandy hopes to change that system through the Black Pitch Contest and the society.
91裸聊视频淵ou might have a really good idea, but if it can91裸聊视频檛 get funded it goes nowhere,91裸聊视频� she said.
Peter Mwariga, a director of the society and contest judge, said finalists would have to demonstrate they understand their target markets and especially their competition.
He said that after coming to Canada in 1989 from Kenya, he too had trouble getting funding for his business as an immigrant without a home to offer as collateral.
Like Kasandy, he lacked independent wealth or a lengthy credit history as he tried to navigate the unfamiliar landscape of the Canadian financial system.
Judging the contest91裸聊视频檚 pitches and picking the best entries was difficult, Mwariga said, 91裸聊视频渂ecause they all have amazing ideas and we want them all to succeed, but unfortunately we can91裸聊视频檛 award 25K to everybody.91裸聊视频�
Finalists were coached to refine their pitches before going in front of the judging panel, and Mwariga said the winning pitch would have to outline a 91裸聊视频渕arket strategy that is well defined.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 slightly longer than an elevator pitch, so they need to be a bit more articulated in how they present their business, which is important because they91裸聊视频檒l be going up in front of investors,91裸聊视频� he said.
Mwenda Dyck, 22, is among the finalists, pitching his vertical farming company South Central Greens.
Dyck said the money could help him scale up his operation, which involves plants grown in stacked racks, and buy new equipment to outfit a barn facility.
Tired of Manitoba winters, Dyck relocated to Abbotsford in early 2022 to study agriculture and horticulture at the University of the Fraser Valley.
He said he aspired to sell nutrient-dense microgreens and other crops to local restaurants and farmers markets.
As a young Black person starting out in business, Dyck said he had come up against people who might not validate or value his ideas based on how he looks, but he didn91裸聊视频檛 let that dissuade him from his goals.
91裸聊视频淪ome people may not credit you as much as they should, just kind of based on your appearance, which is disheartening,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淏ut at the same time, you can91裸聊视频檛 let that take your motivation away, otherwise you91裸聊视频檙e not going to move forward.91裸聊视频�
Dyck said he had been motivated and inspired by Kasandy91裸聊视频檚 story and that of the society.
91裸聊视频淪he went through all of these challenges in terms of finding funding, building her network and just running her business and she didn91裸聊视频檛 want it to be so hard for other Black entrepreneurs,91裸聊视频� he said.
Vancouver-based Deress Asghedom is another of the Black Pitch finalists.
Asghedom91裸聊视频檚 Vaster App is an artificial intelligence-driven software application that allows cannabis users to scan products with a smartphone to find out potency and production information.
Asghedom likens it to the music-identification app Shazam, but instead of using a phone91裸聊视频檚 microphone to identify songs, it uses a camera to scan and display product information.
He said a 91裸聊视频渟eries of unexpected events91裸聊视频� culminated in creating the app. He said he first wanted to apply it in the restaurant sector for things like nutrition information after his father had a health scare.
But the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hospitality industry forced him to pivot.
He came up with his new idea after seeking a cannabis-based therapy for his dog when it developed arthritis.
Asghedom said the product he was recommended had an adverse effect on his pet, and he later found out from a vet that he had been given the wrong treatment. He also struggled to figure out correct dosages.
91裸聊视频淭hat got me thinking maybe there91裸聊视频檚 a way that we can use the technology that we91裸聊视频檝e already developed to try and make it easier for people to interact and learn about the product without having to have deep knowledge or an encyclopedic memory,91裸聊视频� he said.
The pitch contest had been a 91裸聊视频済odsend,91裸聊视频� he said, and winning the money would bring a full version of the app closer to market after initial success with a beta version among cannabis brands and dispensaries.
The social implications of being a Black-owned business in the cannabis world were not lost on Asghedom, he said, with the history of regulation and criminalization that disproportionately affected Black people.
91裸聊视频淚f I can provide a different narrative for what it looks like to be a Black entrepreneur in cannabis, then that91裸聊视频檚 a welcome responsibility that I want to represent in the best way that I can,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 see myself as an entrepreneur first.91裸聊视频�
The winner of the pitch contest will be selected at the society91裸聊视频檚 Black Business Summit, a free event being held online Feb. 24 and 25. The keynote speaker will be former governor general Michaelle Jean.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
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