CBCC Launches #BlackFoodEnergy Entrepreneurship Accelerator with DoorDash: Supporting Black-Owned Food Businesses in Greater Toronto Area
- damiadeniyi
- April 12, 2023
- Foods, News
- accelerator, Ago's Boat, Black-owned businesses, Boukan, business fundamentals, Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce, catering companies, CBCC Mentors, Classic Juice, community members, diversity, DoorDash, Doug Minter, entrepreneurship, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, food industry trade secrets, food retail businesses, foundational skills, Greater Toronto Area, GTA, Hasco Ltd, Honey Soul Food, inclusion, industry knowledge, Inside Lagos Kitchen, mentorship, one-on-one consulting, Pier 120, professional mentorship, restaurants, Shilpa Arora, Spring Activator
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The Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) has partnered with DoorDash and Spring Activator to launch the #BlackFoodEnergy Entrepreneurship Accelerator. The ten-week program aims to support Black-owned and operated food businesses in the Greater Toronto Area by addressing day-to-day business challenges. It is also backed by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev).
The accelerator program offers a custom curriculum that includes one-on-one consulting, mentorship, and access to an ecosystem of resources for business fundamentals. It is open to Black-owned or operated restaurants, catering companies, and food retail businesses in the Greater Toronto Area.
Doug Minter, Elevate Program Manager at the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce, stated that the #BlackFoodEnergy Entrepreneurship Accelerator aims to provide Black entrepreneurs in the food industry with the resources they need to grow their companies. Shilpa Arora, General Manager of DoorDash Canada, added that the program aims to level the playing field and empower Black food entrepreneurs with access to critical industry and business knowledge and know-how.
DoorDash has provided a full scholarship to all seven entrepreneurs selected for the program, allowing them to gain access to a new network and receive professional mentorship from industry and community members. The program also teaches participants how to open an existing business to new revenue streams, such as partnering with delivery services like DoorDash.
The #BlackFoodEnergy Entrepreneurship Accelerator program shares lessons on foundational skills and food industry trade secrets to ensure that participants can compete alongside non-Black food businesses. Program attendees include Inside Lagos Kitchen, Pier 120, Classic Juice, Ago’s Boat – Fish and Chips, Boukan, Hasco Ltd, and Honey Soul Food. CBCC Mentors include Doug Minter, Danny Stone, Toshiba Billings, Diacre Bayishime, Denise Gillard, Sean De Freatis, and Vibe.
