Black Women Continue to Navigate Familiar Challenges as They Make Their Mark on the Canadian Economy

Courage, Resilience Driving the Growth of Black Women Entrepreneurs in Canada

What Delali Adiamah is doing in Vancouver’s food scene is unlike anything the city has seen before, breaking through the city’s anti-social reputation and bringing strangers together over African food. The founder of Dehl’s Gourmet Foods had been dabbling with this idea of creating a new kind of culinary experience similar to what she was seeing in London and New York.

            “Black folks just enjoying a wonderful space. We also deserve that,” Adiamah says. According to research by Technomic, while Black consumers account for a relatively small proportion of the Canadian population, they have a disproportionately higher level of engagement with Canada’s foodservice industry than the national average. 64% of Black guests says they visit national chains or local restaurants once a week or more frequently, compared to 56% for the national average. With that kind of spending power, it’s no wonder Adiamah and other foodservice professionals like her want to create experiences where Black guests feel seen and celebrated. She’s on the cusp of opening a new space in New Westminster, just outside of Vancouver, where she plans on hosting curated events and experiences, like an Afro-foodie pop-up. Adiamah says the space is not just for her business but will also welcome new chefs who could also use a space to showcase their talents.

            “The world will always wait for you as long as they know what value you’re bringing to the table,” she says. With labour force participation rates sitting at 66.1% – five percentage points higher than their non-racialized counterparts – the contributions Black women make to the Canadian economy are impossible to ignore. In the 1800s in Toronto, Mrs. M.O. Augusta is known to be the only Black woman to have owned her own shop during this period. Her imported dry goods store and dressmaking boutique was the only one owned and operated by a Black woman. Today, whether it’s pioneering diversity in the automotive industry, revolutionalizing the healthcare industry or breaking through in new industries, Black women continue to make their mark on the Canadian business landscape.

                        Investments by the Canadian government will only help to amplify and accelerate the work of Black female entrepreneurs. The Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub’s Qualitative Persona-Based Study aims to, among other goals, deepen the understanding around the experiences of Black women entrepreneurs and Black entrepreneurs in general. As Dr. Jared Wesley, the principal investigator for this study and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Alberta, points out Black entrepreneurs in Canada are facing two key challenges: invisibility and stereotypes. Going beyond statistical data, creating personas in politics and public policy has proven to be an effective approach to painting a more nuanced picture.

These personas could help to paint a clearer picture of the significantly high number of Black immigrant women building businesses in Canada. Marthe Moukanda is well aware of the challenges African women face when they immigrate to this country with hopes of starting a business and building a life here. The founder of Association Femmes Africaines Francophones (AFAF) hears from Black francophone women across Canada about the barriers they face when trying to launch a new venture in Canada – the biggest obstacles being language and not knowing with how the Canadian system operates. Regardless, Moukanda says most of the women she meets don’t let than stop them.

“The mindset of an African woman is entrepreneurship. No matter what happens, they are creative,” she says. “They’ll do hair, food – they’re very resilient. They don’t always have the tools but the heart is there.” In Canada, 53.5% of Black female entrepreneurs are immigrants and most of them are established here. Of the Black female business owners, 47% have been here more than five years, compared to just over 6% of those who came to Canada less than five years ago. This comes as no surprise to Moukanda. While Black women might come to Canada with big dreams, Moukand says it takes time to get there.

“It takes a lot of courage and resilience to adapt to a new environment,” she says. “Sometimes they have the skills, they have the experience, but they don’t know how to navigate the culture.” Coupled with a language barrier, Moukanda says it can kill their dreams. Add to that the feeling that what they were doing back home can’t work in their new home. “So, they end up sacrificing their dreams for a structured salary. This becomes the comfort zone. It takes a lot of guts to drop the stable job and then start building a business.” Melat Hadera can relate to that statement. She came to Canada in 2017 from Tigray, Ethiopia, to study cyber security at British Columbia’s Capilano University. While here, she fell in love with the beauty industry and decided to bet on her dream: building an affordable clean, vegan cosmetics line. Her pivot is paying off: her products are a hit at trade shows and the addition of over 40 new products is slated for this year. Standing on the shoulders of trailblazers like Beverly Mascoll, Hadera says Black women are using their voice and purchasing power to bring change to the industry.

“They are influencing the market,” she says. “Their demand for inclusiveness is pushing a lot of brands to expand their products and shade range–which is incredible to me.”  Hadera says over the past five years, just about every brand has revamped product offerings to be more inclusive – a direct result of Black women pushing for change, she believes. Her own brand Blaze Beauty was launched to fill an affordability gap. She says clean, vegan cosmetics were out of reach for many consumers. “These kinds of products are over-priced. It shouldn’t be costing that much to have clean cosmetics.”

Hadera doesn’t shy away from conversations about the barriers Black women, and women entrepreneurs in general, face. “Limited access to resources and capital, as well as a lack of representation makes it challenging for Black women entrepreneurs. When you’re stepping out as a young Black woman, they don’t really believe in you,” she says. Still, Moukanda is very hopeful: the infusion of federal and provincial resources to support Black women is making an impact. “The Canadian economy is getting better, richer because of the work we’re doing in Canada – there’s actually support to make it happen,” Moukanda says. Meanwhile, Adiamah, who finds herself at the all too familiar intersection of motherhood and entrepreneurship counsels others to navigate the challenges with a generous serving of grace.

“Take it easy on yourself,” she says. “I remember in my early stages when my son started walking, we were moving, and he was transitioning to solids. It was around that time I started having these heart palpitations because I felt like everything had to be done – everything had to be perfect, laundry folded, everything had to be clean, dishes done. But I would say take it easy on yourself. Dishes can wait; laundry can wait.”