Message from the CEO

As the world emerges from the past two years of the pandemic, one way to look at what we have experienced is to look at it as a time of a great reset, a chance we will probably never see again. This great reset has led the Black Business Initiative to emerge, bigger, stronger, and excited about moving into its second quarter century. The past two years have been a time to evaluate how business works. Some of our clients were able to embrace the new reality by pivoting to online and additional new delivery modes; other business models were not as adaptable. We discovered people could successfully work remotely from their homes using new technologies. Three years ago, who ever heard of Zoom? Today it’s a part of our daily lives both for business and personal use. This past year has been a year of exceptional growth for the BBI as we have been able to finally turn our vision of being a resource for Black-owned businesses throughout the Atlantic region into reality. We now have physical offices in Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick that, along with our Nova Scotia presence, serve all four Atlantic Provinces, with the Newfoundland office serving our community on Prince Edward Island. As you read these pages, you will learn of the exciting alliance we have forged through the expansion of the SBCCI program. Additional funding dedicated in the latest federal budget allowed the BBI to distribute a total of $8.5 million directly to Black community organizations. This grant funding has helped historically underfunded Black-led and Black-serving organizations, allowing them to provide professional development to their teams, identify new strategic activities, move to bigger venues, generate revenue, and grow their organizations. Not only have we expanded past our home province of Nova Scotia, but we have also joined national partners to collaborate and provide insight to like-minded organizations across the country to enable them to move their mandates forward. During the last weekend of July, the BBI was proud to be part of the third National Black Canadians Summit, hosted by the Michaëlle Jean Foundation. It was a combination of presentations, workshops, panel discussions, vendors’ booths, artists’ exhibits and performances of poetry and music. More than 1200 participants filled our Nova Centre, and the event concluded with the presentation of the Halifax Declaration, a culmination of the exchange of ideas and recommendations from the weekend. On a personal note, I must mark the passing of one of the BBI’s closest friends and advisors, Sean O’Regan, earlier this year. Not only was he a valued friend but he was possessed of one of the finest business minds in our province and freely shared his knowledge and intelligence with the BBI on many occasions. His passing has left a huge hole in the business and cultural community in our province. Despite uncertain times and loss, BBI is ready to continue emerging from the pandemic energized, excited, and ready to continue to move forward into our next 25 years, thanks to our community, our supporters, our funders, our board, and especially our staff.

Respectfully,

S.I. Rustum Southwell BBI, Founding and Interim CEO

Building stronger Black businesses in the Atlantic provinces EXPANDING THE POSSIBILITIES

S.I. Rustum Southwell BBI, Founding and Interim CEO

By Feleshia Chandler

For the past 25 years, the Black Business Initiative (BBI) has dedicated itself to supporting Black entrepreneurs by helping them grow and enter the mainstream business ecosystem. Now, after years of calling Nova Scotia home, the BBI has recently extended that same support to the rest of Atlantic Canada. BBI’s CEO Rustum Southwell says this has been a long time coming. “Ironically, in 2016, we had spoken about expanding our reach in terms of a vision,” Southwell said. “What is now in place as a Black entrepreneur program is exactly what we were saying in 2016.” The BBI has been selected to administer the federal government’s Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) in Atlantic Canada. Its mandate is to strengthen and broaden existing support for Black businesses and entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia and to expand services and programs to all four Atlantic provinces. The BEP is a partnership between the Government of Canada, Black-led business organizations, and financial institutions. It is intended to assist Black Canadian business owners and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and succeed in the future by offering an investment of up to $160M over four years, including $130M from the Business Development Bank of Canada and $30M awarded to the Federation of African Canadian Economics (FACE) by the federal government. Thanks to this funding, the BBI can now offer its services in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. The BBI will have a physical presence in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador – as well as support for Black entrepreneurs on PEI – in the form of two Entrepreneurship Engagement Managers (EEMs). Multiple services are now being offered across Atlantic Canada. These include increased access to funding, procurement, supply chains, scaling opportunities, entrepreneurial development, business skills training, and business development support, which includes counselling and advising.

Chiedza Jones BBI Director, Corporate Strategy, Research, and Communications

There will also be more access to information, resources, mentorship opportunities, communications, marketing, and promotional strategies for businesses, as well as youth entrepreneurship programming through Business is Jammin’ (BIJ). Although the BEP is a four-year investment, the BBI plans to continue offering these kinds of services across Atlantic Canada even after the program has ended. Chiedza Jones, the BBI’s director of corporate strategy, research, and communications, says while an array of services will be available across Atlantic Canada, BBI is giving careful consideration to how programs will be administered. She says the Black entrepreneurial landscape in Nova Scotia may not look the same as the business landscapes in other provinces. Therefore, it will look at different ways to get people the help they need, regardless of location.

GROW

Now, after years of calling Nova Scotia home, the BBI has recently extended that same support to the rest of Atlantic Canada, something the BBI’s CEO Rustum Southwell says has been a long time coming.

The BBI has been selected to administer the federal government’s Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) in Atlantic Canada. Its mandate is to strengthen and broaden existing support for Black businesses and entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia and to expand services and programs to all four Atlantic provinces.

LEAD

Controlling data and doing work well is going to ultimately depend on Artificial Intelligence and technology, so that’s one of the areas that we’re pushing. It’s so important we let the leaders in our community and business owners understand that business is not easy, and it’s not a given. So, you can be as hardworking as could be. [If] you don’t have the technology, you can fail.

— Rustum Southwell “The approach we’ve taken is a combination of looking at building relationships with Black businesses in the other provinces, Black partners, as well as service providers who are supporting Black entrepreneurs,” Jones said. “But we are also taking the approach of a needs assessment, which is currently underway to make sure that we have a better understanding of the needs of Black entrepreneurs and Black businesses in the other provinces in Atlantic Canada.”

Njabulo Nkala Director of Innovation & Growth; BEP Project Lead

Jones says the BBI has been looking into modernizing the onboarding or intake processes for businesses, including making it an online application – to streamline the application process. This goal was achieved when the new BBI website launched in August, featuring a fillable intake form. Southwell says there will now also be an added focus on tracking trends among Black businesses in order for the BBI to better understand the programs and services which will need to be offered in the future. He says that because we are living in a digital age many of the companies the BBI supports are service-based – such as construction, retail, and food service – and because those are often high-risk fields, they need to better understand the modern technological needs of these businesses. “Controlling data and doing work well is going to ultimately depend on Artificial Intelligence and technology, so that’s one of the areas that we’re pushing,” he says. Southwell says the BBI will also be, from now on, trying to set realistic expectations when it comes to the challenges many business owners will encounter when starting their own organization or company. “It’s so important we let the leaders in our community and business owners understand that business is not easy, and it’s not a given,” Southwell said. “So, you can be as hardworking as could be. [If] you don’t have the technology, you can fail.” Jones says the BBI is also working on an online platform, as a part of the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative (SBCCI). SBCCI was created by the federal government through Employment and Social Development Canada. “The SBCCI platform we’re building [is] where not-for-profit organizations that are Black-led and Black-serving can come together to share ideas and collaborate,” Jones said. She says the same online platform would also be for grants. “So [we’re] building a platform where we can also see other organizations that may be interested in being funders have a Black-led, Black-built platform they can actually host their grants on.” Looking further ahead, Southwell says the BBI is focusing on strengthening its existing team to ensure that even after he retires, the organization will continue to flourish and help as many Black entrepreneurs as possible. In 2012 TYSON BYARD approached CBDC Guysborough to help him get his business off the ground. The CBDC provided financing to help him buy his first truck and the business has continued to grow since then. “The support from the CBDC was appreciated, they are a great bunch of people to work with.”

Tyson says owning your own business has its challenges, it’s a bit of a love/hate relationship, but he’s proud to be able to provide employment for people in his area. With five trucks on the road, the Tyson Byard Trucking logo can be found across the Maritimes delivering anything from lumber to fish to construction materials. If you see him on road, give him a wave!

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In Memoriam

Sean O’Regan

On March 10, 2022, the O’Regan family experienced the unexpected passing of Sean O’Regan, age 53. Sean was a son, brother, husband, and father. He was also a titan of the Nova Scotia business community. At the time of his death, Sean was president and CEO of O’Regan’s Automotive Group. With Sean at its helm, O’Regan’s was lauded locally and nationally for business excellence. Sean was also named Businessperson of the Year by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce in 2009. Sean had both a keen business mind and a giving heart. He supported countless organizations, including the Black Business Initiative. In addition to being a faithful corporate sponsor, Sean was a friend of the BBI and its CEO, Rustum Southwell. Sean was a familiar face at BBI events; he donated his time by participating in the opening session of the 2010 BBI Summit. He received rave reviews for his contributions, during which he emphasized the importance of efficiency, improving the customer experience, and having faith in one’s employees. BBI is grateful to Sean for his wisdom, generosity, and friendship through the years. We join his family, loved ones and colleagues in keeping his legacy alive. 23 Feb. 1969 – 10 Mar. 2022

“The key to success is building the right team and keeping it intact.”

– Sean O’Regan, 2010

Sean and Mike Duck kick off the 2010 BBI Summit

Sean at the BBI 15th Anniversary Gala in 2011

We’re here to support your business.

Whether you are new to exporting, expanding to new markets, or looking to grow your diverse export business, NSBI can help.

Contact Scottina Jackson, Export Development Executive, at sjackson@nsbi.ca to learn more. nsbi.ca/businesses-diversity