Ottawa faces calls to extend funding for Black entrepreneurship programs in fall economic statement

Open this photo in gallery: Tiffany Callender, chief executive officer of the Federation of African Canadian Economics (FACE), poses for a portrait in Montreal on Oct. 4. Callender and other leaders of government-funded programs for Black entrepreneurs and communities are calling for a renewal of their funding, which is set to expire in the new year.Evan Buhler/The Globe and Mail Black-led business and community organizations are calling on the federal government to renew funding for entrepreneur support programs that are set to expire in the spring, stressing the need to invest in the racialized group’s contributions to the Canadian economy. After Canada’s 2018 endorsement of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent and the nation-wide demonstrations borne from George Floyd’s killing in 2020, Ottawa introduced multiple multi-million-dollar programs to support Black businesses, including the Black Entrepreneurship Program, the Support Black Canadian Communities Initiative and the Black-Led Philanthropic Endowment Fund. But funding is set to run out for the BEP and the SBCCI on March 31, 2025. And while the endowment fund’s $200-million budget is set to run for 10 years, the contract with the government can be cancelled at any time. Such supports help address the systemic...