How an Ontario network is 'empowering' Black entrepreneurs

For budding Black business owners, education and administrative support are valuable, and so is having a group of peers to talk to.

That's been the experience of three Ontario entrepreneurs who participate in the Southwestern Ontario Black Entrepreneurship Network (SWOBEN). 

"It's been a whirlwind," SWOBEN manager Francoise Yesaya-Keddy tells CBC Hamilton.

The program launched in December 2022, with the goal of connecting and providing resources to Black business owners, entrepreneurs and non-profits. It's run out of Hamilton charity Empowerment Squared and funded by federal agency FedDev Ontario.

SWOBEN offers four months of education, workshops, events, as well as advisory services like finance, law and accounting that continue beyond the initial term.

Although the program has just three staff, Yesaya-Keddy said it's got about 150 businesses in its network, based in cities such as Hamilton and Windsor, offering services that range from landscaping to podcasting to pre-owned luxury goods.

As the program marks its first anniversary, CBC Hamilton spoke to three participants about their experiences.

Gloria Kabedi and her partner Filo co-founded Kabaz, an app that allows users to buy gift cards for small businesses, which Kabedi said are often underrepresented in that market. She's currently working to grow Kabaz and partner with more companies.

The pair, who recently moved to Brantford, Ont., from Hamilton, came up with the idea in 2020 and got connected with SWOBEN in 2022 at a community event, Kabedi said. She said she appreciated that it was local, and that it focused on empowering Black entrepreneurs specifically. "There are lots of challenges we face in this space."

WATCH: Gloria Kabedi talks about the importance of being part of a network:

Getting funding can be challenging for Black entrepreneurs, she said, and may involve overcoming biases. "It is helpful to be somewhere or part of an organization where we have discussions about those biases and challenges and look at ways of addressing them."

Being in a network where she can ask questions and learn from her peers has helped her build confidence, Kabedi said. "It's quite empowering to be surrounded by professionals and others like myself who are also going the same path."

Denika Joseph, a long-time Hamiltonian now living in Kitchener, owns construction and renovation company Ornate Space, which started in early 2023. She said SWOBEN reached out to her and she jumped at the opportunity to join the network.

Joseph had studied business but said SWOBEN helped her refine a business plan that considers legalities in the construction industry she was less familiar with.