There are close to two million Blacks across Canada and for each and every one of their sake, the hope is that the Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund does not fail or fall into disrepute.
So far, it doesn’t look good.
The multimillion dollar fund announced as part of the Black Entrepreneurship Program by the Trudeau government in May 2021, promised Black business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs across Canada up to $250,000 in loans from the $160 million fund.
Recent reporting by the Globe and Mail, paints a bleak picture of the fund after close to a year in operation.
Numbers attained by Canada’s national newspaper confirmed what many Blacks across the country suspected, that the Federation of African Canadian Economics (FACE) has been lacking in their capacity to deliver on the promise, approving less than one percent of the applications they received.
So far, only about 100 of the more than 16,000 applications have received the green light.
That leaves thousands of Black entrepreneurs scratching their heads about an initiative that was hyped by the government as a way to help them overcome decades of difficulties accessing financing from financial institutions.
The Globe and Mail article, based on numbers received from the government, states that less than 1000 of the 16,000 applications have been reviewed and 100 or so approved. To date, an estimated $8.6 million has been paid out.
The newspaper also reports of entrepreneurs who have found themselves in “financial distress” because of mixed signals regarding their loans they’ve receiving from FACE.
One applicant has since filed a lawsuit against FACE.
For its part, the federation hinges its deficiencies and apparent ineptness on the fact that it is a new institution as well as the need for extreme stringency in screening applications.
Not a word on their continued negligence in communicating with applicants or the community.
The government responded by giving them an additional $9M to hire additional staff.
Adding to the uncertainties, we know now that all the big banks that were supposed to partner with the government on this loans fund have since pulled out and set up individual out-reach initiatives to Black entrepreneurs.
It’s obvious that the Trudeau government is all in on this initiative and seems committed to its success. How long that commitment lingers is anyone’s guess.
For the sake of every Black person in Canada, let’s hope it will be forever.
Saving FACE
