Ottawa invests $389K to support Black-owned businesses in northern Ontario

Omobolanle Abajingin says she was always an entrepreneur when she lived in Nigeria, and kept that up when she moved to Canada in 2018, and eventually settled in Sudbury.

But it came with its challenges.

"There are always challenges when it comes to business. I think the biggest one would be acceptance," she said.

"It took a while for people to accept that, 'OK, she's actually one of us and she's a member of the community.' I think that was a big challenge."

After settling in Sudbury, Abajingin said she started to experiment with different popcorn flavours with her children, and eventually started to sell them at the downtown Sudbury Market.

She later opened a small café in Laurentian University's student centre, called Zena Café.

On Wednesday, just outside of Abajingin's café on the Laurentian campus, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, or FedNor, announced $389,197 in funding to support Black-owned businesses in northern Ontario.

The money will go to the Afro-Heritage Association of Sudbury to support its Northern Ontario Black Economic Empowerment Program (NOBEEP).

FedNor said the infusion of cash will help NOBEEP support 20 new businesses and help an additional 15 existing businesses.

"More Black businesses in the community, it's a win for all because we're all diverse people. We bring different things to the table," Abajingin said.

Charles Nyabeze, NOBEEP's executive director, said the money from FedNor lets the empowerment program build on existing momentum.

"One thing that really excites me is that over 126 Black businesses were identified in northern Ontario," he said.

"They now get to get more of our services as they expand and grow their businesses, while new ones are coming in as well."

Nyabeze said one of the biggest challenges Black businesses owners face is getting access to capital.

"When you're new to Canada, you really don't have a credit rating of any sort to speak on. It's very difficult to get funding if you are a brand new business," he said.

NOBEEP helps them access "nano funding" through small loans to get up and running.

On Feb. 1, NOBEEP closed its office in downtown Sudbury, but Nyabeze said it's part of a move to expand its digital footprint and serve more businesses across northern Ontario online.

"In the future, we may consider having our own independent space, which is not just renting a space, but actually owning our own physical location," he said.

"Maybe more of an Afro centre where there's more than just NOBEEP happening there."