Saskatchewan Black-owned businesses hold first-ever expo — News — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

The first Black Business Expo in the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada, held on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Prairieland Park, Saskatoon.

The business event, which took place in the city of Saskatoon, brought together members of the black community who gathered to showcase their different businesses and network with other business owners.

Black Business Expo also had top government functionaries in attendance; Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Hon Randy Weekes; the Deputy Mayor of Saskatoon, Bev Dubois; the CEO of Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, Jason Aebig were some of the top officials who graced the occasion.

Tosin Fetuga of Noble Links, a co-organizer of the expo, said the idea for the expo was to bring many black business owners in the city under one roof.

“The idea started from a casual conversation, and we wanted the bigger community to see our diversity and what black businesses have to offer. We are scattered all over, but we’re coming together in one place to create a network for us,” Fetuga said.

The City of Saskatoon recognizes and celebrates cultural diversity and race relations. The Deputy Mayor of the City of Saskatoon, Bev Dubois, commended the organizers, volunteers, sponsors and all the businesses on showcasing the black excellence exemplified through their different businesses.

“The objective of the Black Business Expo is to showcase and promote black-owned businesses, foster networking, collaboration, and economic empowerment within the economy, I congratulate you all,” she said.

The Speaker of the Saskachewan Legislative Assembly, HonAWE45orable Randy Weekes, in his address also commended the initiative behind the Black Business Expo.

“I have had the honor of attending the 2024 Black History Month Gala and the Afrocentric Symposition. These events were very informative and showcased the great work being done in our community,” he said.

One of the major highlights of the event was the panel session which featured successful black business owners in the province sharing their experiences running businesses in the province and nuggets for a prosperous enterprise.

John Owojori, a co-organiser of the event, said black businesses have never had it so good until now. I have been here for fifteen years and I have not seen a time that you had a lot of black businesses. In 2009-2012, you could count the number of black businesses. It is amazing to see the diversity and the excellence black business owners show here in the community. We are happy to have black-owned businesses across sectors – real estate, consulting, food, service,” he said.

The event, which was completely filled out and did not have enough booths to accommodate all the businesses who applied to showcase, has buoyed the organizers to make it an annual event.

Black Business Expo, Saskatchewan was put together by Noble Links Consulting, as part of the celebration of this year’s Black History Month. It was supported by the City of Saskatoon council, legislature, and chamber of commerce.