Black entrepreneurs continue to navigate structural barriers in access to capital and networks, even as some founders achieve high-profile exits. Advocates say representation and targeted support are critical to closing long-standing gaps in Canada’s startup ecosystem.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Efosa Obano, program manager and founder of the Black Founders Network at the University of Toronto, and OneCliq co-founders Tanika MacLeod and Nathan Knight about how community-based accelerators can help founders scale and how the company progressed from early-stage support to acquisition.
Key Takeaways
- Black entrepreneurs in Canada continue to face funding gaps, with limited access to venture capital, grants and traditional financing.
- Community-driven accelerators aim to bridge capital and mentorship gaps by providing staged funding, structured programming and founder networks.
- Many founders cite being overlooked or underestimated as a barrier, particularly when raising capital in competitive markets.
- The Black Founders Network says it has grown to more than 10,000 members since launching in 2021 and has delivered significant financial value through grants and programming.
- OneCliq, a social media analytics platform that analyzes online sentiment for brands, was recently acquired, underscoring the growth potential of Black-led startups when support systems align.
Read the full transcript below:
LINDSAY: And it, of course, is Black History Month. So we’re looking at Black entrepreneurship in Canada and the potential challenges and wins with our next guests. I’m joined in studio by Efosa Obano, program manager and founder of the Black Founders Network, to my left, and alumni of the program, co-founders Tanika MacLeod and Nathan Knight of consumer insights platform OneCliq. It’s good to have all three of you join me. Thanks so much for coming in.
NATHAN: Absolutely.
EFOSA: Thanks for having me.
LINDSAY: So if I start with you, can you tell us a little bit more about what BFN actually stands for and the reasons behind its importance?
EFOSA: Yes. So the Black Founders Network, BFN, we’re an inclusive community for Black entrepreneurs at all stages of their journeys. Since we started in 2021, we’ve been able to grow to over 10,000 Black founders across Canada. We provide the right mix of capital, community and capacity-building for founders to start their businesses, launch them and scale them.
LINDSAY: Because when it comes to business, there’s a lot of discrepancies there, right? Like 70 per cent of Black-owned businesses across Canada were not eligible for the federal Canadian Emergency Business Account during COVID. So how did BFN help with that, and why such a big gap?
EFOSA: Yeah, I think there are tons of reasons why. Before we started BFN, we actually spent a year talking to Black entrepreneurs one on one, trying to understand why these gaps exist. And we found out that the biggest root cause was lack of community. Lots of Black entrepreneurs were often the only Black founder in the accelerator programs they were in, or talking only to non-Black investors when they were trying to raise funding. So this gap existed because we were trying to get support from people who could not relate to our lived experiences. That’s why we decided to build a network to provide that resource capital and networks. Since we started, that stat has moved in the right direction. Still a lot of room to grow. But we’ve been able to provide over $100 million in financial value to Black entrepreneurs since we started BFN. That just shows what’s possible when we really build a solution for us and by us.
LINDSAY: That’s amazing. OK, I want to bring in Tanika and Nathan as well, because you are, of course, the founders of OneCliq. So first off, Tanika, what is OneCliq? Can you explain the business?
TANIKA: Yeah. So it’s a market research platform that helps you analyze social media to understand public opinion on virtually anything people talk about online.
LINDSAY: So what was the reason for deciding to start this business?
NATHAN: To be honest, it might be controversial, but we didn’t start it because we had a specific problem in mind. We actually started it because we felt a lot of artificial ceilings in our day-to-day work after university. So we built the company, really, to go beyond those ceilings and excel as exceptional people.
LINDSAY: And being part of BFN, how did that help your business?
NATHAN: Tremendously.
LINDSAY: Yeah? How so?
TANIKA: I mean, they were among our first customers. They actually provided grant money to the company. They provided mentorship and support. So all of the different things the community that a startup needs to thrive, they were able to really provide that.
NATHAN: And I want to click into the grant. It’s kind of a funny story. When we got the grant, we could either pay rent or pay our development team, and we just had to pay our development team. It was risky, but it paid off.
LINDSAY: It’s such an interesting thing when you hear about these startups, the decisions and choices you have to make in terms of where your money goes, right?
NATHAN: Absolutely.
LINDSAY: So how does it work, then, with BFN? For example, did OneCliq reach out to BFN? How does that work?
EFOSA: Yeah. Well, I guess we met at an event. They attended one of our events. So we host a lot of events — shameless plug, we have one tomorrow. They came from one of those events, and they were very resilient founders from the very get-go. They came in and were trying to pitch us the vision. We usually start from the community layer, connecting one on one, and then we have programs tied to the different stages of the entrepreneurial journey. They participated in our Accelerate program, which is for companies that have some traction but need help boosting their growth. They get access to grants in this program, but more importantly, they get access to really structured support to scale their businesses. After completing that, they won the People’s Choice Award at Demo Day. With BFN, when you come through BFN, it sort of turbocharges your growth. They left BFN and got into Google and different accelerators shortly before the very exciting acquisition that happened last year.
LINDSAY: I just wanted to mention that you were acquired last year. Congratulations. It shows how your company is continuing to excel. Tell me about that — how it feels, and maybe how BFN helped you get there.
TANIKA: Yeah. I mean, Efosa was one of our key mentors that we went to for support through that experience. Honestly, it feels amazing being able to have that chapter with our startup team and really build a foundation for us to continue to build together. I think right now is such a critical moment. We have this strong conviction about what we’re experiencing. Of course, everybody knows this amazing tech cycle. I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of tech cycle, even though they happen every couple of decades. So right now we’re really passionate about participating in that, because when we talk about a tech cycle like this, it’s really something where new technology is introduced and it radically transforms experiences so much that new products and new market categories are created that never existed before. We saw that in the mobile app era. There are so many categories of products that exist today that didn’t exist before then. So we’re really passionate about participating in that, and this move has made that so much better for us and our team to be able to do that.
LINDSAY: It’s a fast-paced industry, especially in this day and age. I want to get back to some of the hurdles that Black entrepreneurship faces in Canada. Obviously, because we’re talking about Black History Month and how Black entrepreneurs can face some of those challenges. What do you think are some of the biggest ones that need to be addressed, whether it’s by the federal government or otherwise?
TANIKA: I think that being overlooked and underestimated is part of that experience. Especially when we talk about fundraising, Canada has so much great talent, particularly in the Black community. There’s just a lack of funds going around that is accessible to founders. I think that’s something BFN has done an incredible job at, being able to actually put money into the hands of founders, not necessarily through loans or pitch competitions where only one person wins. You’ve created pitch competitions where several startups win, so that it’s not so much survival of the fittest. We can’t really operate from a scarcity mindset and expect the ecosystem to grow from that. So I think that’s a mentality that really needs to change when it comes to resource allocation — actually putting capital into the hands of founders and trusting them to make good decisions with that money.
LINDSAY: Efosa and Nathan both nodding along. Efosa, if you have anything to add?
EFOSA: Yeah. Very well said. I think from doing this work over the last four years, we’ve seen so many brilliant minds. We’ve learned that talent is evenly distributed, but opportunities are not. When you back underestimated founders, who typically have to work twice as hard to get anyone’s attention, it’s a very smart business decision because you have even higher return on investment. The other thing important conversations like this do for the Black community and for the broader community is it helps Black kids watching this right now see that it is possible for them to be Tanika or be Nathan. When I was growing up as a young aspiring entrepreneur, I would count on 10 fingers — Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs — before I counted a Black entrepreneur. Our vision with BFN is to make that change, to make it normal that when anyone is counting successful entrepreneurs, you don’t have to go past your first three fingers before you count Tanika and Nathan. Increasing representation is a big part of that. Having them spotlighted is a big part of that, because it shapes the next generation.
LINDSAY: For sure. So well said. Thank you to the three of you for joining us today in studio. Appreciate it.
EFOSA: Thank you.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the Feb. 20, 2026 interview with Efosa Obano, Tanika McLeod and Nathan Knight are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
