Hamilton non-profit marks 5 years of support for Black-owned businesses, hopes to make bigger impact
CBC
A non-profit organization that supports Black-owned businesses in the Hamilton area celebrates its fifth anniversary this week, and one of its leaders said the group wants to make an even bigger impact in Ontario and Canada.
Ashleigh Montague, co-founder of Blk Owned, said while they started in Hamilton, where most of the businesses they support are located, they've also partnered with organizations in the Niagara Region.
Montague said they are now ready to take Blk Owned even further.
"When I think years from now I am seeing more of a national impact," Montague told CBC Hamilton.
"Within the next three years, I see expanding geographically within Ontario, strengthening the reach that we have been able to foster over the last five years."
Montague and her sisters — Alexandria Montague and Abygail Montague — co-founded Blk Owned on June 2, 2020 at a time when people around the world had taken to social media to post black squares after the resurgence of Black Lives Matter, and, specifically, the murder of George Floyd by white police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis.
Since then, the organization created an Instagram page to showcase Black-owned businesses, launched, and has hosted markets, events, and workshops along with a Black-owned business directory that highlights and showcases businesses to the community.
In 2022, Blk Owned launched a trailblazer program to help young Black entrepreneurs gain fundamental skills to help improve their business. They've had three cohorts of participants since.
In all, they've supported hundreds of Black entrepreneurs, Montague said.
Blk Owned has received funding from Toronto Pearson airport's Uplift Fund, as well as the Hamilton Community Foundation, Montague said, which has allowed them to launch the community platform and a hybrid version of the trailblazer program.
Montague said the trailblazer program runs over a two-month period with online and in-person components.
At the end of each cohort, participants receive an award and networking opportunities with more established businesses, with the other participants and with facilitators, Montague said.
The in-person segment has been held at Sheridan College the past two cohorts, she added.
"Because of our expansion of our program... we've had people connecting with businesses from the Brampton region, the Scarborough region, all the way through to London," she said.
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