More than 100 Black entrepreneurs, community leaders, and professionals across Ontario registered to attend the Fifth Annual ACBN Legacy Symposium held at Sheridan’s Hazel McCallion Campus (HMC) in Mississauga on March 2. The event, organized by the Afro-Caribbean Business Network Foundation Canada (ACBN) in collaboration with Sheridan EDGE and Pilon School of Business, aimed to facilitate inter-generational collaboration and share wealth-building strategies within the Afro-Caribean business community.
Hon. Minister Tangri, Associate Minister for Small Business and MPP (Mississauga -Streetsville) welcomed attendees in her video address, bringing a message of encouragement for business owners in the Afro-Caribbean community.
Attendees engaged with representatives from the Mississauga Board of Trade and community partners like the Black Women’s Collective, Alterna, and Meridian, which presented loan programs for the community, and Patrick Cole, who spoke on community development.
The event keynote speakers included Dr. George C. Fraser, CEO and Founder of FraserNet, Inc.; Peter Trevor Wilson of Human Equity™ and founder and President of TWI Inc.; Chris-Beth Cowie, founder of Empowered 4x; and Sherley Joseph, founder of Black Canadian Content Creators, who shared insights on sustainable business practices and wealth creation.
Event highlights included a panel discussion on Generations Unplugged: Bridging the Gap in Conversations, a Pitch contest and vendor booths showcasing businesses from the community.
“Our collaboration with Sheridan EDGE and Pilon School of Business significantly contributed to the Symposium’s success. We thank Sheridan students for actively fostering a welcoming and supportive atmosphere. Attendees felt empowered to advance their businesses, ready to engage across generations, and motivated to pursue wealth-building initiatives in the Afro-Caribbean business sphere. ACBN is honoured and enthusiastic about serving as a beacon of hope for our community and is committed to ongoing endeavours beyond the annual Symposium,” said Chris-Beth Cowie, a member of the ACBN’s founding team.
About ACBN
Founded in 2017, the ACBN works to unify and educate Black entrepreneurs in its network of more than 5000 businesses in Toronto, Peel and surrounding areas. The ACBN has cultivated a community for Black business owners where they can cross-promote their products and services to build their ventures and participate in relevant business and personal growth workshops. ACBN supports Black Founders with strategic planning to assist with capacity building with resources such as microloans, marketing and sales support as well as investment readiness training. ACBN has conducted extensive research in southern Ontario to understand the current landscape of Black Entrepreneurs and the barriers they face. As part of the National Black Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, ACBN works with business support partners to create solutions to eliminate barriers Black entrepreneurs may face.
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- Panel discussion with Nicola Harris, Minelle Williams, Lorraine Telesford and Chris-Beth Cowie.
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- Keynote speaker Peter Trevor Wilson engages the audience in an interactive activity during his presentation on ‘Wealth Creation’.
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- Representatives from ACBN, EDGE, PSB and the city of Mississauaga
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- Keynote speaker Chris-Beth Cowie takes the stage for her presentation on ‘Building on Social Enterprise for Greater Impact’.
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- Keynote speaker Peter Trevor Wilson with Renee Devereaux, Director of EDGE and Firuzan Mistry, Marketing and Communications Manager at EDGE.
