To stimulate wealth creation in Black communities, IBEF identified nine priority issues resulting from the aspirations of Black communities and communities at the first edition of the 2015
As Nelson Mandela famously said, "Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. In this regard, the experience of many Black entrepreneurs and role models reiterates that improving the well-being and quality of life of Black communities requires access to education for all. This right, recognized in Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Child's Rights, is not always available to everyone.
To better equip our communities for education, we will need to innovate on several levels:
Integrating and engaging youth in the various Black community and community initiatives
Promoting models of success in Black communities and communities
Rethinking current educational systems to reflect the diverse socio-cultural and economic conditions, needs and aspirations of youth that vary across the continent, particularly for Black populations.
One aspect of our collective strength is the commitment and organizational capacity of the Black community and community-based organizations to meet the needs of the people they serve. While the relevance of these organizations is now recognized, initiatives to improve their effectiveness and efficiency include
Promoting a culture of philanthropy within organizations to increase their presence and impact.
Equipping Black organizations with governance tools to enable them to reach their full potential.
Utilize the International Black Economic Forum (IBEF) to bring XXXX together in one place.
Invest in cooperative models. For example, producer cooperatives would bring together entrepreneurs and businesses that want to share resources to conduct their business. Consumer cooperatives would provide goods and services to members for personal use at competitive costs, including food and housing.
Wealth creation in Black communities means giving ourselves the tools to realize the full potential of our economic strength. This will require creating and capitalizing networks of influence capable of advancing our aspirations. To do so, we will have to:
Develop a unique and rigorous research capacity and economic intelligence on Black communities to influence public policy;
Ensuring a meaningful presence of Black community members and communities in political spheres and supporting existing members;
Expand opportunities to develop strategic alliances with the private sector to increase the presence of Blacks in decision-making arenas.
The housing market has been in turmoil in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting housing affordability. Therefore, it is becoming more urgent to work on facilitating access to property in the process of empowering Blacks. Several actions will have to be put in place, including the following.
Collaborate with governments to create incentives adapted to the realities of Black communities. In North America, for example, the exposure of Black communities and communities to housing discrimination and spatial segregation must be taken into account. In Africa, the exposure of many real estate developers to the risk of corruption in some major cities will need to be considered.
Explore the creation of customized forms of support where Black communities would receive interest-free purchase support. This is a consumer cooperative model already found in other diasporas, such as the Chinese diaspora in North America.
UNESCO considers investing in science, technology, and innovation (STI) essential for economic development and social progress. Present in most human activities, science and technology are part of our daily lives, and the professions related to them are pillars for the development of our society. For Black communities, the promotion of greener science and technology implies prioritizing the following actions
Raising awareness among young people of the central role that STI will play in the careers and professions of the future. This will require supporting initiatives that target Black youth leadership in this area.
Encourage entrepreneurs to integrate advanced technologies in order to become competitive in international markets. Future technologies will have to deal with the new values of a society that is now sensitive to environmental issues. As regulations tighten on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, Black entrepreneurs will need to be supported in the ecological transition. Established companies will need to transform their business ways, while start-ups can seize this opportunity to create business opportunities.
Going into business and realizing one's business project remains an undeniable contribution to the economic development of the communities in which we evolve. However, it appears that Black entrepreneurs have more difficulty accessing capital, and many measures must be put forward to remedy this. These will include:
Formalizing entrepreneurial support networks. This will allow established Black coaches and mentors to stay connected to the business community in Black communities, support the next generation of entrepreneurs, and act as a conduit between start-ups and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Start-ups will benefit from these networks to differentiate themselves and seize business opportunities.
Facilitate access to capital. While capital is plentiful and available, most funding programs tend to favor businesses with a good financial track record, experience and expertise in grant applications, established funders, and high profitability potential. It will therefore be necessary to work with financial institutions and government economic development agencies to further develop programs that facilitate access to innovative businesses and projects led by young Black entrepreneurs who may not meet these criteria.
Support businesses with high growth potential that can create quality jobs. Many Black-owned and operated businesses have the potential to create more jobs. However, there are costs to scaling up and strategic alliances with the private and public sectors will need to be developed for them to be able to compete with other large businesses on the international stage.
Supporting small traders
In addition to the issue of access to capital, access to specific markets is also a priority. Indeed, many organizations in education, health, municipalities and others award numerous contracts to service providers. However, community contractors cannot always compete in these markets and do not always take advantage of existing business opportunities.
Various strategies will need to be developed, including promoting Black contractor products and services. Implementing diversity impact clauses such as ADS+ within public administrations represents an opportunity for Black entrepreneurs to position themselves favourably in public markets.
Led mainly by women, single-parent families are still hardest hit by poverty. This can be explained by the income inequalities between women and men. In addition to these elements, black women are at risk of being discriminated against because of their skin colour or because they wear a religious symbol.
Social policies can help create conditions that contribute to the well-being of single-parent families in Black communities and communities. IBEF can play an influential role with public authorities through research and evidence-based proposals. However, to do so will require that these policy measures be sensitive to social, cultural, and geographic contexts.
Through disseminating information and the representation of existing cultural patterns and activities, the media plays an important role in our society. The media is thus a vehicle for promoting Black communities and communities. IBEF sees through the media:A powerful tool to promote Black perspectives on economics, science, art, culture and technology.
Un instrument puissant pour promouvoir les perspectives Noires sur l’économie, la science, l’art, la culture et les technologies.
A showcase in which we must increase opportunities to highlight the accomplishments of Black communities and communities in local, national and international economic development.
In sum, these nine key priority issues will be the focus of the IBEF initiatives. They also allow for the involvement of a large number of allies, collaborators, and partners and the mobilization of Black community members and communities in the search for and implementation of solutions to be successful.
Participation in
o Federal funding deposit
o Participation in the MIFI Research Group
In short, these nine major priority issues will be at the heart of FEIN’s initiatives. They also allow the involvement of a large number of allies, collaborators and partners as well as the mobilization of members of Black communities and communities in the search and implementation of solutions to be prosperous.
