A group of Black professionals is initiating a new fund to support Black-owned companies and organizations in Canada as a way of fighting systemic racism in the country.
While talking about the initiative, the Managing Director and Vice Chairman of National Bank Financial, Ray Williams said Black Opportunity Fund has “highly aspirational” goals for generating funds and will “meld investment capital and social capital together with philanthropy.”
The plan of the organization is to partner with other groups like Canadian Association of Urban Financial Professionals. Also, the organization is supported by no fewer than 51 executives. Supporters of the organization include Dennis Mitchell, Starlight Capital Chief Executive Officer; Colin Lynch, TD Asset Management’s Head of Global Real Estate Investments and Hazel Claxton, Ontario’s University Pension Plan’s Trustee.
Williams said at first, the project started as a discussion among Black professionals concerning how best the community can be served but after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, organizing efforts doubled up.
He said: “What we want is a situation where we establish something by Blacks for Blacks. That creates a particular focus that I think is missing at this point in time.”
