BEKH Solutions Lab Launch: The BEKH and Dream Legacy Foundation Launch National Collaborative Network to Advance Solutions for Black Entrepreneurship in Canada

‍ The Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (BEKH) and Dream Legacy Foundation have launched the BEKH Solutions Lab, a national collaborative network bringing together community organizations, researchers, entrepreneurs and other partners to strengthen how Canada’s Black entrepreneurship ecosystem learns, collaborates and develops solutions.

‍The Solutions Lab builds on research generated through the BEKH and the knowledge already being developed by organizations working with Black entrepreneurs across the country. Through program mapping and evaluation, collaborative design, practical resources and regional pilots, the Solutions Lab will create opportunities to identify promising approaches, test new ideas and share what is learned across the ecosystem.

‍Research has helped deepen understanding of the barriers Black entrepreneurs encounter, from access to financing and professional networks to mentorship and market opportunities. At the same time, organizations across Canada are already developing programs and approaches to address many of these challenges. Their work generates valuable knowledge about what entrepreneurs need, what is showing promise and where opportunities for improvement remain. But those lessons do not always travel beyond the organizations or communities where they were learned.

‍The BEKH Solutions Lab is designed to help bridge that gap by creating a structure for research and community knowledge to inform practical solutions and for organizations to learn from one another. 

‍ “We co-design and share solutions with researchers, partners and entrepreneurs and this continued partnership with DLF will help advance those goals significantly. We are excited to continue engaging the community in Canada as we learn more about the challenges that Black entrepreneurs across the country and the ecosystem partners that serve them, are facing, “said John Nelson, Executive Director at the BEKH.

The Dream Legacy Foundation (DLF), the BEKH’s longstanding national community engagement partner, helps connect this work with Black entrepreneurs and organizations across the ecosystem.

"The BEKH Solutions Lab is led by Dream Legacy Foundation in partnership with the BEKH at Carleton University. Dream Legacy Foundation leads ecosystem partnerships, community engagement and coordination of the Solutions Lab network, while the national Hub provides research, data and evaluation expertise. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada as part of the Black Entrepreneurship Program." For Monique Olowolafe, President of DLF, the Solutions Lab responds to a question that has increasingly followed the research.

‍“A lot of people reach out and say, ‘OK, well now what do we do with this?’” she says. “So [it is about] finding something that is structured so that we can move the data insights into implementation and especially being able to do that at a national level.”

‍The answer is not necessarily to create more programs. Instead, the Solutions Lab is designed to build on the work already happening across Canada by helping organizations examine existing approaches, share what they are learning and collaborate on practical solutions.

“The Solutions Lab is really designed to support and highlight the work that’s being done in the community, so it’s not to duplicate efforts,” Olowolafe explains. “It’s definitely not to replicate or replace the good work that’s already being done.”

The Solutions Lab will put that idea into practice through five connected stages. It will map programs and services across Canada, evaluate existing approaches, bring partners together to co-design solutions, develop practical playbooks and resources, and test promising ideas through regional pilots. Learning from each stage can inform the next and be shared across the ecosystem.

‍Black entrepreneurs will also contribute to that process by sharing their experiences with programs and services, participating in research and evaluation, and helping shape practical solutions. Their perspectives will help the Solutions Lab understand not only where challenges exist, but how supports are experienced in practice and where they can be strengthened.

“The Solutions Lab will facilitate the creation of new tools for both ecosystem partners and the entrepreneurs in their programs. Stronger pathways are needed right now to help promising ideas and lessons move across organizations and regions. This will be a gamechanger in the future,” said Nelson.

The goal is not to establish a single model for supporting every Black entrepreneur. Rather, the BEKH Solutions Lab creates a way for the ecosystem to continually learn from research and experience, test promising ideas and improve approaches as new knowledge emerges.

Looking ahead, Olowolafe hopes that commitment to learning and experimentation will become part of the Solutions Lab’s longer-term contribution.

“Communities, researchers and policymakers recognize that equity requires infrastructure, experimentation and intention in order for Black businesses to be successful,” Olowolafe says. For her, the launch of the Solutions Lab is an opportunity to put those principles into practice.

The BEKH Solutions Lab is now inviting organizations working across Canada’s Black entrepreneurship ecosystem to get involved and contribute their knowledge, experience and expertise. Black entrepreneurs are also encouraged to participate and help shape the work.

Learn more about the BEKH Solutions Lab and get involved at www.bekh.org/the-solutions-lab.