KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Isaac Olowolafe
The Visionary and the Founder of Dream Maker Inc. 

Mr. Olowolafe is an entrepreneur, business owner and philanthropist. Building Dream Maker Inc. over the last decade, the vertical integration operation includes Brokerage, Wealth Management, Property Management, Wealth Building Education, Development, Venture Capital and now Insurance. 

Isaac has recently launched a program at Ryerson University to help more black entrepreneurs turn their ideas into businesses, offering seed money, mentorship and access to further investment for startups led by black business people. The Black Innovation Fellowship is partly funded by a donation from Mr. Olowolafe Jr. and it will start recruiting applicants, with its first cohort of 10 businesses set to start in the spring of 2019.

Dream Maker Development just finished building the 1st major mixed-use development site (Condos/Townhouses/Retail), located across from Yorkdale Mall, called Dream Residences @Yorkdale. And has 10+ other Developments on the go in key locations around the GTA.

Mr. Olowolafe Jr. is the recipient of numerous awards and letters of recognition for his business acumen. Over the last 5 years, Mr. Olowolafe Jr. has gained recognition from some of the top Developers and Brokerages. Some of them include; Tridel, Milborne Realty, Baker Realty, Cresford, Phantom Developments, Plaza Corp.

Hosted By Chris-Beth Cowie and Ryan Oneil Knight

  Chris-Beth Cowie

Current Vice President of the Afro Caribbean Business Network and Founder of Empowered for Excellence.  Chris-Beth has over a decade of experience training and developing leaders in non-profit and for-profit ventures around the world and is a Business Mentor at the Sheridan College Business Incubator, EDGE (Entrepreneurship Discovery and Growth Engine).  Chris-Beth has brought her expertise in leadership and personal development training to ACBN and is the lead business consultant at ACBN.  The Empowered for Excellence team is committed to empowering our people to leverage their potential and add value to the community and world around them by finding effective solutions and achieving success with a positive impact.

 Ryan Oneil Knight

Current Chairman of the Afro Caribbean Business Network, the proud founder of Detailing Knights a mobile waterless car cleaning social enterprise.  Ryan has been able to use his business to work with youth in the community to show them the power of entrepreneurship.  Using Detailing Knights as a guide students from High School, College and University are able to run micro-franchises around the city and learn about entrepreneurship first hand.  Ryan has become an advocate in the community for economic empowerment which has lead to him being a weekly contributor on NEWSTALK1010 to discuss current events from the Afro-Caribbean lens

OUR LINEUP OF DYNAMIC SPEAKERS

Trevor Shorte, Founder of Songbird Marketing Communications

Trevor and his wife Candace run an award-winning agency that helps businesses find their voice in the world of Social Media, PR, Branding, and Marketing. Trevor has used his 25 years of business experience to build a reputation for developing business strategies, incubating new business models, and building out channel programs for clients.

An active member of the Ontario startup community, Trevor works with TorontoStarts as a mentor and The Fashion Zone at Ryerson University as a Business Advisor offering workshops, one-on-one consultations, and guidance for entrepreneurs and startups in various industries such as Fashion, Cryptocurrency, Tech, Consumer, and e-Commerce.

Susan Henry, Manager of Community Investments at Alterna Savings

Community Micro Finance is one of Alterna’s core social responsibility initiatives as well as a tool used to mitigate poverty and promote self-sufficiency within communities across Ontario. At Alterna, we have one of the largest Micro Finance Programs in Ontario that provides over $5 million dollars in micro loans to over 1000 individuals and organizations.

The Alterna Savings Community Micro Finance Program:

Offers loans ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 with a focus on underserved and underrepresented individuals and organizations

The Alterna Savings Community Micro Finance Program offers five types of loans:

1. Income builder loans

2. Skilled Professionals and Trades Loans

3. Working Women Business Loans

4. Social Impact Entrepreneurship Loans

5. Professional Development Loans

Andrew Bromfield, Founder of Formative Innovations Inc.

Andrew's mission is to help organizations grow by helping them detect and seize new opportunities as they emerge in the marketplace. He leverages technology as an effective tool for service differentiation and process innovation, while remaining focused on the business and human aspects required to achieve what Formative's clients define as success.