Launching the Black Founders Network

Watch on demand

Event overview

Join us for the official launch of the Black Founders Network (BFN), a new initiative developed by University of Toronto Entrepreneurship to create an inclusive community for Black entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey. This is your first opportunity to learn about the BFN, intentionally built with the Black community, to enable aspiring and existing Black founders to launch, fund and scale impactful startups. This will be accomplished by providing the right mix of capacity building, capital, and guidance for each stage. BFN core values include fostering allyship, mentorship and sponsorship to nurture and celebrate Black excellence across U of T’s three campuses.

Consistent with BFN’s mission, the theme of this launch event is Creating Successful Black Founders. The conversations and panel sessions will explore how we can achieve this through the lens of the young and experienced Black entrepreneurs, investors, and the community organizations.

Keynote remarks will be provided by Michael Seibel, Managing Director of Y Combinator, one of the earliest and most successful startup technology accelerators not only in Silicon Valley but around the world.  Michael brings years of lived experience and entrepreneurial success that will inspire and inform our community.