UBC today announced a partnership with the Casa Foundation to launch the Black Advisory Hub (BAH) in Western Canada. The Casa Foundation has been awarded funding from the Government of Canada’s Black Entrepreneurship Program to execute and deliver the Black Advisory Hub, a national program across Canada to support Black entrepreneurs in Canada to start and grow their businesses. Casa initiatives include business fundamentals training, mentorship, entrepreneurial programming, networking events, webinars and workshops that provide resources and opportunities for Black entrepreneurs, and support for Black-led businesses. Innovation UBC will be the delivery partner for the BAH program and related services at UBC.
The goal of the BAH program is to deliver national services over four years to support 8,500 entrepreneurs and 750 Black-led businesses, while creating 175 new businesses and an estimated 1,000 jobs. The Casa Foundation identified the University of British Columbia as an academic anchor, and Innovation UBC specifically as the delivery partner, to help them connect with, and find ways to support BIPOC entrepreneurs at UBC and the broader regional ecosystem.
Since 2013, the entrepreneurship & venture building team at Innovation UBC has supported over 740 UBC founded ventures by providing a broad range of services such as, entrepreneurial skills training, embedded mentorship and advisory services, and Makerspace, among other important resources. Innovation UBC has a strong track record of working collaboratively across the university, and is recognized as a valued partner throughout Vancouver’s startup ecosystem. And finally, Innovatino UBC’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is rooted in its mission to democratize entrepreneurship. Recognizing the diversity of Innovation UBC’s venture community where approximately 40% of ventures supported by Innovation UBC were co-founded by at least one international student; 64% of ventures are addressing three or more United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and 55% of mentorship hours were delivered by women in 2023, partnering with the Casa Foundation is the ideal complement to Innovation UBC venture resources.
“The Casa Foundation is an exceptional partner to strengthen the ecosystem of BIPOC entrepreneurs and business leaders in BC.” notes Dr. Sean Lumb, Associate Director, entrepreneurship@UBC. Adding, “we are thrilled to be advancing the supports provided to BIPOC founders who are members of the UBC community, and by extension, helping them connect to the broader regional ecosystem.
“The Casa Foundation is so pleased to partner with the University of British Columbia in our efforts to bring the BAH to Western Canada. Our mission of sharing scalable, innovative approaches and resources to supporting economic integration of Black entrepreneurs, will be furthered through this collaboration” stated Dr. Olutoyin Oyelade, President and CEO, Casa Foundation.
Innovation UBC is also pleased to share that Abigail Okyere, previously a UBC Mastercard Scholars Foundation Recipient and entrepreneur, will be joining the team as the Program Manager for the BAH project.
About the Casa Foundation for International Development
Casa Foundation for International Development is a Canadian not-for-profit founded in 2011 to advance women, youths, and emerging leaders through economic, entrepreneurship, and business development initiatives. Casa Foundation offers support to vertical sectors in, education, health, and infrastructure. Its social impact programs and initiatives are executed through the trifold approach of Partnership, Sponsorship, and Mentorship. https://casafoundation.ca/
About Innovation UBC
Innovation UBC supports pathways for UBC’s research community to bring their inventions to impact. Through research partnerships, technology transfer, and venture building services, UBC researchers have access to a robust ecosystem of services and support to strengthen their translation opportunities. Innovation UBC is committed to strengthening knowledge and understanding of the commercialization process through mobilizing university inventions for society's benefit. Our goal is to accelerate UBC research inventions to global impact with focused support rooted in removing systemic barriers across the continuum of research translation activities.
For more information contact:
Abigail Okeyere, Project Lead, Casa Foundation Black Advisory Hub, Western Canada
abigail.okyere@ubc.ca
