Diversity fosters innovation, but looking at some tech accelerators across the country, you may not find the most diverse crowd.
That has, at least, been the experience of Isaac Olowolafe Jr., founder of the Toronto-based asset management firm Dream Maker Corporation.
When Olowolafe Jr. launched Dream Maker Ventures, the tech-focused investment arm of the company, the entrepreneur noticed something across the ecosystem: almost everyone was Caucasian.
The son of African immigrants, Olowolafe Jr. didn’t see his community represented within Toronto’s startup community. To solve that problem, Olowolafe Jr. partnered with the DMZ to launch the Black Innovation Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to help Black entrepreneurs achieve success.
Sitting down with BusinessCast host Robert Gold, Olowolafe Jr. traces his own journey as a business leader and outlines some of the barriers entrepreneurs from racialized communities face when trying to launch their own enterprises.
But it’s not all bad news. Olowolafe Jr. takes us through what needs to be done to diversify Canada’s startup community at-large, and how the Black Innovation Fellowship is doing just that.
Listen below.
The DMZ is a leading business incubator for tech startups in Canada. They help startups build great businesses by connecting them with customers, capital, experts and a community of entrepreneurs and influencers.
The DMZ is a partner in StartUp Here Toronto.
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