Black Atlantic: Building Entrepreneurship Research from the Ground Up
What does it take to build a Black entrepreneurship research hub in Atlantic Canada—a region where academic resources are stretched thin and Black communities often find themselves overlooked? For Dr. Harvi Millar and his team at Saint Mary’s University, it has required persistence, strong partnerships, and an unwavering focus on community-driven research.
When the Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (BEKH) first opened calls to establish regional nodes across the country, Saint Mary’s was not among the original selections. But with an already existing relationship with the Black Business Initiative (BBI) and a track record of community-centered projects, Dr. Millar’s team was well positioned when the opportunity arose to anchor the Atlantic Hub.
“We knew there were research gaps that couldn’t be addressed from afar,” Dr. Millar explains. “If we want to understand the real barriers and opportunities for Black entrepreneurs here, we have to build that knowledge from within the community itself.”
Bringing together a small group of faculty from Saint Mary’s and Dalhousie University, alongside doctoral researchers from Tanzania and Kenya, the Atlantic Hub quickly set to work. Early on, it became clear that there were few researchers in the region whose primary expertise lay in entrepreneurship—especially Black entrepreneurship. That constraint didn’t stall them; instead, they focused on assembling a team motivated to investigate overlooked questions and committed to making the work meaningful on a local scale.
While Black entrepreneurship has gained increasing visibility in provinces like Ontario and Alberta, Atlantic Canada remains underrepresented in national studies. Black-owned businesses in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick often operate in smaller markets with fewer established support networks, and research has largely overlooked their particular realities.
Nationally, studies show that Black women are the fastest-growing demographic of entrepreneurs. Yet in Atlantic Canada, the challenges are compounded: lower access to capital, fewer mentorship opportunities, and systemic barriers remain persistent. “We needed to document these experiences rigorously,” says Dr. Millar, “not just to complete a report, but to start building a stronger foundation for future Black-led research in the region.”
The Atlantic Hub has anchored its work around three core studies. The first focuses on Black women entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, exploring how personal passions intersect with systemic barriers to shape their entrepreneurial journeys. Preliminary findings show that while most women start businesses to fulfill lifelong dreams or meet community needs, they are hampered by limited access to financing, low use of digital tools, and the ongoing weight of racial and gender bias.
The second project, led by doctoral researcher Prince Foya, examines the experiences of indigenous Black entrepreneurs—such as African Nova Scotians—compared to Black immigrant entrepreneurs. While both groups navigate similar systemic barriers, preliminary data suggest important distinctions: immigrant entrepreneurs more frequently cite unfamiliarity with the local market and difficulties accessing capital, while long-established Black communities report deeper frustrations with persistent exclusion and limited support networks.
The third study investigates the types of businesses Black entrepreneurs choose to start—and why. It confirms a trend seen nationally: Black-owned businesses are overrepresented in lower-growth industries like food services and retail and underrepresented in high-growth sectors such as information technology, renewable energy, and manufacturing. The reasons are layered—ranging from lack of access to financing to systemic racism within certain industries—but the outcome is clear: systemic barriers are shaping entrepreneurial choices in ways that limit long-term wealth building.
While the Atlantic Hub faced challenges in mobilizing research capacity, it found strength in partnerships. Organizations like the Black Business Initiative, Black Women in Excellence, the Tribe Network, and the Black Business Professional Network in New Brunswick provided essential support—facilitating data collection and connecting researchers with entrepreneurs across the region.
“These partnerships have been critical,” Dr. Millar says. “They’re trusted organizations within the community, and they helped us build credibility and ensure that our research reflected real voices and experiences.”
The Atlantic Hub plans to submit its research reports to BEKH by early 2025, with an eye toward translating the findings into academic publications and policy recommendations. Dr. Millar is optimistic about the impact the work can have—not only in Atlantic Canada but also in reshaping how Black entrepreneurship research is conducted nationally.
“The true success of this work won’t be measured by the number of pages in a report,” he says. “It’ll be measured by whether we can contribute to a shift—where more Black entrepreneurs feel seen, where more researchers take up these questions seriously, and where the next generation has a foundation to build on.”
For the Atlantic Hub team, this work is not an endpoint but a beginning. With new relationships forged and a clearer understanding of the region’s needs, they are already thinking about what comes next: expanding their research network, mentoring new scholars, and pushing for a more inclusive, evidence-driven ecosystem for Black entrepreneurship.