DISRUPTION RESOURCE LISTING

From investment funds and venture capital, to support programs, mentorship and coaching, research hubs and incubators, our resource listing offers founders, startups and thought leaders the connections they need to thrive.

Funding Sources

  • Pocketed
    Pocketed helps companies across North America access billions of dollars in government funding with their intelligent matching platform and funding solutions. Since launching in 2021, more than 9,000 businesses have used Pocketed to apply for over $80M in government funding.

  • BackStage Capital
    Backstage Capital invests in companies led by underrepresented and underestimated founders, including those who identify as women, people of colour and LGBTQ. To date, it has invested in 200 companies, providing support that goes beyond financial investment. 

  • Black Entrepreneurship Alliance (BEA)
    The Black Entrepreneurship Alliance (BEA) is a co-initiative between Black Creek Community Health Centre and York University's Yspace, TD CEC, and SchulichExecEd to support Black entrepreneurs in the areas of agri-food, tech and community.

  • BKR Capital
    Founded in 2021, BKR Capital (formerly Black Innovation Capital) was built with the objective of investing in promising black founders in the technology space. BKR Capital makes early and transformational investments in disruptive companies often answering the unmet needs of minority communities.

  • BlackTech Capital
    BlackTech capital is committed to the success of underrepresented founders building solutions for the climate crisis. As we create a cleaner tomorrow, BTC is making sure there is opportunity & resources for the founders that have been historically overlooked.

  • Black Business Ventures Association
    BBVA is on a mission to help establish 1000 successful, Black-led tech and tech-enabled businesses in Canada by 2030. BBVA serves as a bridge between the Black community and the technology ecosystem.

INCUBATOR & ACCELERATOR PROGRAMS

  • The DMZ
    The DMZ is a world-leading startup incubator based at Toronto Metropolitan University that equips the next generation of tech entrepreneurs with the tools needed to build, launch, and scale highly impactful startups. By providing connections to customers, coaching, capital, and a community, the DMZ’s customized approach helps innovators reach the next milestone in their entrepreneurial journey.

  • Black Founders Network
    The Black Founders Network (BFN) is an inclusive community for Black entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey which helps them to build, launch and scale impactful startups. It provides access to the right mix of capital, community and capacity building for each stage of their journeys. Join the community here. 

  • Groupe 3737
    Groupe 3737 is a national not-for-profit organization that provides coaching and support to more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and social purpose organizations within the Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities across Canada. We are the only business incubator in Canada founded and managed by entrepreneurs and professionals from diverse backgrounds.

    Since our inception in Montreal in 2016, the BIPOC businesses we have supported have generated more than $160 million in revenue and created more than 600 jobs. We have expanded across Canada with offices in Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton, ensuring we meet the needs of Canada’s ethnocultural entrepreneurs.

  • BIPOC Foundation
    BIPOC Foundation is advancing economic empowerment, financial inclusion, and representation for all underestimated entrepreneurs globally. We strengthen a network of underestimated and underserved entrepreneurs and founders through capacity building and access to resources that will encourage positive economic participation.

  • Google for Startups Accelerator

    Google for Startups Accelerator: Black Founders is a 10-week digital accelerator program for Seed to Series A, revenue-generating technology startups based in the U.S. and Canada. This equity-free accelerator is designed to bring the best of Google’s programs, products, people and technology to Black-led tech startups across the region. In addition to mentorship and technical project support, the accelerator includes deep dives and workshops focused on AI/ML, product/UX, growth/business and leadership development. Learn more here.

DIVERSITY TOOLS

  • MT Consulting Group 
    MT Consulting Group is a leading consultancy based in Edmonton, Canada specializing in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consulting, training and coaching. MT Consulting Group is proud to be women and BIPOC-owned and is a favoured choice for DEI training, workshops and curriculum development.

  • Artemis’ IDEA Toolkit
    The Recruitment IDEA Toolkit is a central place to find recommendations, along with the curated resources and tools you need to act on IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility) principles and ensure ideal outcomes for everyone. The toolkit supports these efforts across every part of the recruitment process.

  • SETSI
    The Social Economy through Social Inclusion (SETSI) model aims to tell a story, change minds, shift perspectives, and grow communities. Its coalition was developed as a response to some of the emerging trends and challenges it collectively witnessed in the social economy, social finance, impact investing and cooperative ecosystems.

  • Changing Lenses
    Changing Lenses is founded and led by Rosie Yeung, a Mindset Liberation Coach and JEDI Warrior (JEDI = Justice, Equity, Decolonization and Inclusion). Yeung’s research-based program helps racialized women succeed in work and life by transforming instead of conforming. Yeung was liberated by mindset change and positive psychology, and offers culturally relevant trauma-informed coaching both one-on-one and in her eight-week “Free Your Mind” brain boot camp.

ACADEMIC & LEARNING

  • Indigenous Knowledges - First Peoples in Canada Certificate
    Centennial College’s First Peoples program provides students with an opportunity to earn an additional credential concurrent with their diploma program. This four-course certificate program allows Centennial students to explore First Peoples’ current issues, community, relationships, self-governance, and sovereignty within Canada.

  • BEBC Society
    BEBC, Black Entrepreneurs and Businesses of Canada, is a non-profit that represents, supports and advocates for Black businesses nationwide;by facilitating access to financing, social procurement and certification, and providing advisory and mentorship services throughout their entrepreneurial journeys, our goal is to help Black businesses grow, scale and become sustainable!

  • Second Chance Studios 
    Second Chance Studios is a nonprofit digital media company that trains and employs formerly incarcerated individuals. Its core program, the Digital Media Fellowship, is a six-month, full-time paid training opportunity. 

  • Riipen
    Immersing students in industry projects equips them with work-ready skills. Riipen brings industry and academia together, with real company projects. Projects are embedded directly into curriculum, or completed as remote internships.

  • U of A's Indigenous Studies Certificate
    The Faculty of Native Studies offers continuing education programming for a broad range of professionals and lifelong learners. Our courses have been designed to build specialized and enduring skills and competencies for application in a wide array of professions and settings.

COMMUNITY GROUPS

  • Canadian Women’s Network 
    With over 650 members, the Canadian Women’s Network is the preeminent community that connects Canadian female founders with Silicon Valley leaders to help them grow locally and scale globally. CWN launched a BIPOC stream to provide racially diverse entrepreneurs with greater profile opportunities and access to its Silicon Valley network.

  • Alacrity Canada 
    Alacrity Canada is a not-for-profit ecosystem that starts with an inclusive community and extends to full-spectrum support for early-stage companies and entrepreneurs in transformational industries. We provide hands-on advisory services and digital training for emerging businesses, connect them with experts in our network, and offer dilutive and non-dilutive investment opportunities.

  • Afro-Caribbean Business Network
    The Afro-Caribbean Business Network (ACBN) provides resources, networking opportunities, community and educational opportunities for entrepreneurs of African and Caribbean heritage to build sustainable and successful businesses. ACBN’s offerings include an accelerator, a Cleantech micro-credentialing program, an investment readiness program, and UBUNTU, a metaverse mental health program.

  • Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub
    Led by Toronto Metropolitan University's Diversity Institute, the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) is a diverse, nationwide network of researchers, practitioners, women entrepreneurs, and key stakeholders striving to create a more inclusive and supportive environment to grow women’s entrepreneurship in Canada. With 10 regional hubs and a network of over 250 organizations, WEKH is designed to address the needs of diverse women across regions and sectors.