DMZ at Ryerson University has partnered with a community of Founding Partners, including Dream Maker Ventures and Shopify, to develop this first of its kind program. Join us to officially launch the call to applicants, hear from our Founding Partners and entrepreneurs, and celebrate this exciting new initiative.
Program:
12:00 pm - Lunch & Registration
12:15 pm - Opening Remarks
12:45 pm - Panel Discussion
1:00 pm - Closing Remarks
1:15 pm - 2:00 pm - Networking
Speakers:
Shavone Hasfal-McIntosh, Diversity and Belonging Lead, Shopify
Isaac Olowafe, President, Dream Maker Ventures
Newton Asare, Managing Director, Dream Maker Ventures
Robleh Jama, Product Lead, Shopify
About the Black Innovation Fellowship:
Diverse communities continue to face barriers in accessing lucrative entrepreneurship opportunities created by Canada’s burgeoning technology-driven innovation sector. Black entrepreneurs in particular, encounter steep challenges when starting and growing a business, from accessing seed capital to fewer publicly recognized role models. We believe that Ryerson’s Zones — a network of innovation hubs which bring together resources, mentors, investors, and high potential companies — can play a role in removing some of these barriers.
This is why the DMZ at Ryerson University has joined forces with a community of Founding Partners to develop the Black Innovation Fellowship (BIF).This first in Canada fellowship program will provide startups led by Black entrepreneurs with the strengthening support of a top university-based incubator network, as well as additional programming, mentorship, events, and connections to industry, capital and an alumni network, to support their success and growth.
Founding Partners
Dream Maker Ventures - Inaugural Founding Partner
Dream Maker Ventures (DMV) is the investment arm of Dream Maker Corp. (DMC), a Toronto-based vertically integrated asset management firm founded in 2003. With divisions in real estate, development, property management, and insurance, DMC has a total of half a billion AUM. The DMV Diversity Fund is an early-stage fund that primarily invests in under-represented, diverse founders such as racial minorities, women, persons with disabilities and indigenous entrepreneurs across North America.
Shopify
Shopify is the leading multi-channel commerce platform. Merchants use Shopify to design, set up, and manage their stories across multiple sales channels, including mobile, web, social media, marketplaces, brick-and-mortar locations, and pop-up shops. The platform also provides merchants with a powerful back-office and a single view of their business, from payments to shipping. The Shopify platform was engineered for reliability and scale, making enterprise-level technology available to businesses of all sizes. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify currently powers over 600,000 businesses in approximately 175 countries and is trusted by brands such as Nestle, Kylie Cosmetics, Allbirds, MVMT and many more.
DMZ
Ryerson The DMZ is a world leading tech accelerator that helps high-pontential startups grow and scale to world-class businesses. We help high-potential startups grow and scale their companies by connecting them with a network of customers, capital industry mentors as well as entrepreneurs and influencers. We're located in the heart of downtown Toronto and supports more than 60 tech startups in 40,000 square feet of innovative space. Since 2010, we've helped hundreds of startups raise more than $563 million and foster over 3,600 jobs.
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is Canada’s leading comprehensive innovation university and home to over 45,000 students. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled over the past 6 years. More than 150 centres, institutes and labs are dedicated to research across disciplines and our 8 priority research themes: Digital Media & Technology, Energy & Sustainability, Health & Well Being, Technological & Industrial Innovation, City Building & Social Justice, Design, Culture & Creative Industries, Management, Entrepreneurship & Competitiveness, and Learning & Teaching for the New Economy.
