Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates!
BEKH Launches National Data Repository on Black Entrepreneurship
For years, much of what was known about Black entrepreneurship in Canada came through scattered reports, informal accounts, or limited datasets. These sources often lacked consistency, detail, or accessibility. With the launch of its national data repository, the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (BEKH) is taking a different approach. The repository is now publicly available on Borealis, the Canadian Dataverse Repository. It contains anonymized data collected through BEKH’s 2024 National Survey on Black Entrepreneurship. This is one of the most extensive studies of its kind, drawing from over 2,300 responses from Black business owners across Canada.
BEKH Eastern Hub Leads the Charge in Crafting Canada’s First Black Entrepreneurship Development Strategy
The Eastern Hub of the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, also known as the Atlantic BEKH (ABEKH), is taking the lead on a major step for Black entrepreneurship in Canada-- crafting the nation’s first Black Entrepreneurship Development Strategy (BEDS). Kicking off 2025 with a clear focus on coordination and community input, ABEKH has been actively engaging Black entrepreneurs, researchers, and ecosystem partners through events like their hybrid Development Strategy session in January which was attended by almost eighty community leaders across the nation and February’s visioning session at the BEKH Capstone Conference in the capital.
BEKH Western Hub Calls for Stronger Collaboration Between Researchers and Policymakers
At the recently held, "Empowering Black Entrepreneurs: Bridging Research, Policy, and Practice” symposium held at the UBC Robson Square in Vancouver, the Western Hub of the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (BEKH)— based at RADIUS, Simon Fraser University— made a clear and urgent call: closer collaboration between researchers and policymakers is needed to better support Black entrepreneurs. Hosted on February 28, 2025, in partnership with UBC’s Black Advisory Hub, the event, brought together researchers, business leaders, and community advocates to explore the challenges and opportunities within the Black business ecosystem.
Recap of the 2025 BEKH Capstone Conference
The conference opened with remarks from Dr. Gerald Grant (BEKH Co-Lead), followed by the Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business, who praised BEKH’s national research leadership. Isaac Olowolafe (Dream Legacy Foundation) closed the session, stressing the urgent need for institutional data in the Black entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Patricia Chareka Wins BIG at the 2025 BEKH Capstone Conference
The Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (BEKH) is proud to celebrate the success of Patricia Chareka, the winner of the $10,000 Dream Legacy ThriveWell Grant, powered by GreenShield! Her vision, compassion and commitment to community impact stood out among a highly competitive group of Black entrepreneurs who participated in competition.
BEKH Launches National Digital Platform to Boost Black Business Networks across Canada
The Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (BEKH) is making waves in Canada’s Black business community with the launch of the Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map (BEEM), an innovative digital platform designed to support Black entrepreneurs. Recognizing it's significance Monique Asuquo, president of Dream Legacy Foundation (DLF), stressed its necessity. “Networking and visibility with our community are not just beneficial, they are essential.
The Cost of Distance: Funding, Belonging, and Black-Owned Businesses in the North
Entrepreneurship in Northern Canada carries a unique cost: distance. For Black entrepreneurs, the realities of geography collide with barriers to funding, strained trust in institutions, and the ongoing struggle to feel fully included in the national conversation about business support. For Tracy Hall, who served as Research Associate with the BEKH North Regional Hub at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), the challenge was clear from the start. “The northern region is a little different than the rest of the country in terms of its vastness,” she recalls. “It’s not as easy to just hold an event and bring people together. Geography and travel costs alone make that difficult, and then you layer on things like wildfires and evacuations—it changes everything.”
Q-BEKH x Black Inc. Podcast:
As a province, Quebec has mastered the art of synergistic dichotomies, blending tradition with innovation and interweaving creative expression and technological progress. It’s not surprising then, that the Quebec Regional Hub of the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (Q-BEKH) would be the ideal setting for our latest project for Black entrepreneurs.
BEKH Sparks Surge in Black-led Research at the University of Alberta
The future of Black-led research has ignited on the Prairies. What once began as an ambitious initiative from the federal government to support Black entrepreneurship across Canada through research-driven insights, has sparked a blaze of progress and potential for Black entrepreneurs and researchers alike.
Bridging Futures: A Transformative Workshop on Black Entrepreneurship and Visionary Thinking
On November 27th, Q-BEKH, the Office of Community Engagement and District 3 innovation center brought together a diverse cohort of change-makers for the Foresight Bridging Futures Workshop—an immersive experience that redefined how we approach community, entrepreneurship, and future-building.
Scenes from the Federal Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Conference
The 3rd Annual Federal Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Conference, hosted by the Afro Caribbean Business Network (ACBN) at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business from October 28-30, 2024, was an essential event for Black entrepreneurs and organizations supporting Black-owned businesses.
BEEM Connects Black entrepreneurs to $37 Billion Buyer — The Government of Canada
Imagine having access to a client with a $37-billion budget who is constantly seeking goods and services. This is now a reality for Black entrepreneurs with the help of the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub’s Ecosystem Map (BEEM). With this new addition, Black entrepreneurs across the country can now see how their business links to one of the largest buyers of goods and services in Canada— the Government—unlocking unprecedented opportunities for growth for Black entrepreneurs.
Setting International Standards for a More Inclusive and Equitable Business Environment: The Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map (BEEM)
Casablanca, Morocco – May 2024 – The Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (BEKH) proudly presented the Ecosystem Map for Black Canadian entrepreneurs (BEEM) at the prestigious International Conference on Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Casablanca, Morocco. The event, managed by Group ISCAE, the premier public institution of Higher Education in Management in Morocco, brought together over 200 business leaders, academics, and researchers from around the globe.
The Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub Comes to the University of Alberta
Beyond establishing the BEKH’s mission to lead the development of community-led research projects in collaboration with academics, community organizations, and post-secondary institutions, the Carleton University delegation sketched the short, medium and long term goals of the Hub, which include developing partnership capacity, producing large scale quantitative and qualitative research projects, and fostering tangible research outputs with the goal of building project sustainability.
Researching Black Entrepreneurship in Canada Symposium 2022
On November 17 and 18, 2022, the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub hosted its hybrid research symposium under the theme, “Researching Black Entrepreneurship in Canada,” at the Sprott Business School, located in the Nicol Building at Carleton University. See full story here:
BEKH hosts first open house at Carleton’s brand new Nicol Building
Last week, we hosted our first open house at the brand new Nicol Building, home of the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. About 40 members of the community, including researchers, entrepreneurs and Carleton faculty and students were in attendance. They were welcomed by BEKH Executive Director Andrea Pierce while Dr. Gerald Grant presented about the work we will be undertaking and how the community can get involved.
Five reports available right now on Black Entrepreneurship in Canada
As a key part of the Government of Canada’s Black Entrepreneurship Program, the BEKH is developing large-scale qualitative and quantitative studies, as well as a network mapping of Black entrepreneurial ecosystem at the local, regional and national levels. These are meant to have practical applications for advocacy, policy development, and more, all in support of Black entrepreneurs.
Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub Research to Support Enterprises and Communities
Black entrepreneurship has always been a vital part of Canada’s economy, but large-scale, detailed research and pan-Canadian information on it has been limited. This knowledge and sharing of lived experiences has a vital role in informing the public policies that are needed to address the systemic barriers Black entrepreneurs face when building their businesses.
Building the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub
Within the next year, Grant says he expects the Hub to be fully functional, with community partners actively engaged in co-creating and developing research that reflects the needs of Black entrepreneurs. Within five years, Grant hopes the BEKH will help guide policy making at all levels of government and across the public and private sectors
