Image source: Venture Catalyst, LLC
Last week’s Collision Conference in Toronto marked the first time that North America’s premier technology conference was hosted in Canada. Featuring 1,100 start-ups, 25,000 attendees, and 700 speakers, including an “elevator pitch for Canada” presented by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the event pointed the spotlight on Canada’s innovators and disruptors.
During Trudeau’s discussion, he highlighted the need for diversity and inclusion, exemplified by Canada’s mandate to attract creative individuals from around the world, saying “It’s not just a moral, right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do. Diversity and resilience go together.”
However, diversity and resilience in the Canadian technology and start-up ecosystem are just as important right here at home. This was further accentuated on the last day of the conference during the launch of the Black Innovation Fellowship, hosted at Ryerson DMZ. In cooperation with inaugural founding partner Dream Maker Ventures, and founding partners BMO, the Canadian Women’s Foundation, and Shopify, the fellowship aims to support Canadian technology start-ups led by Black entrepreneurs. Participants will receive incubation, mentoring, and industry connections facilitated by Ryerson University’s wider innovation and alumni network.
“The door has been broken down and we’re creating businesses within the top industries.” Isaac Olowolafe Jr., Dream Maker Ventures
The panel event showcased representatives from each of the partners, including Shavonne Hasfal-McIntosh, Shopify’s Inclusion & Employee Experience Lead; Claudette McGowan, CIO, Enterprise Technology Employee Experience at BMO; Isaac Olowolafe Jr., Founder & General Partner of Dream Maker Ventures; and Paulette Senior, President & CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Ryerson Associate Professor and Director of the Transmedia Zone, Richard Lachman, moderated the talk.
The panellists emphasised the importance of communities in supporting the growth and development of the local start-up ecosystem, with Olowolafe proclaiming that as a result of the fellowship, “[t]he door has been broken down and we’re creating businesses within the top industries.” Similarly, Hasfal-McIntosh reinforced the need to “go back out to the community and continue to build them up.”
Notable attendees included Dream Maker Ventures Managing Partner, Newton Asare; the Government of Ontario’s Fairness Commissioner, Jean Augustine; and Shopify Diversity & Belonging Lead, Prasanna Ranganathan. Osman Hamid, the Director of Student Engagement & Alumni Development at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management, summed up the event with a final word of encouragement for the audience: “We have excellence in our community. Let’s push it forward.”
Applications for the Black Innovation Fellowship are currently being accepted through the Ryerson DMZ website.