TO MY YOUNG, BLACK

ENTREPRENEURS

BY: TANEYA ROGERS 2021

If ever there were lessons to bring into 2021, they would be to hold steadfast to our dreams and to take no opportunity for granted. The Melanistic team, with some help from our readers, sought out those in our community that are persevering in unwelcoming environments and applying their talents to build enterprises. They are carving new paths as they celebrate their Blackness in the process.

Nina Simone’s Civil Rights Anthem opens, “Young, gifted and Black. Oh what a lovely precious dream. To be young, gifted and Black; Open your heart to what I mean”…

The 2021 caucus of Young Black Entrepreneurs have counted ‘young’ as a frame of mind; have committed to never squandering their gifts; and have made ‘precious dreams’ into realities.

We salute them all and hope their stories inspire you.

Meet our Cameroonian King, Ivan Touko; the talented force behind La Connexional. This social enterprise empowers and promotes African, Black, Caribbean and Latinx (ABCL) cultures, maintaining a focus on building capacity within these groups. La Connexional’s work is closely tied to the cultures and communities they serve and identify with. His team consistently seeks a deeper knowledge of their own cultures while also de-colonizing their minds. Today’s environment demands innovation and La Connexional is stepping up by developing a mobile app called LaTandao. The app will showcase the community’s diversity and is purposefully designed to promote growth and cash-flow for businesses, entrepreneurs and artists of ABCL ethnicities, while also creating new relationships across cultures.

Sharing his skills through dance classes, workshops, involvement in non-profit boards and other initiatives such as Africa Unite, Yeg The Come Up and BLM Yeg, Ivan helps to create more platforms in Edmonton that allows the Black community to keep thriving.

Contact: www.laconnexional.com Email: hello@laconnexional.com Insta: @laconnexional

Our Yorùbá Queen, Moréniké Oláòsebìkan is a pharmacist, pharmacy owner and the founder of Kemet Advanced Manufacturing Ltd. She grew up listening to stories about entire villages being wiped out of parents by HIV, in part because people were taking counterfeit medications. She has since made it her life’s purpose to be part of the solution.

Kemet addresses global drug shortages with drug manufacturing solutions designed to be set up in areas with limited resources. Her work extends to the development of The Ribbon Rouge Foundation for health equity. Now an entity of its own, it has successfully raised $1.1 million to employ up to 13 staff with preferential hiring of people of African descent. Over the next three years, the foundation is staged to generate knowledge on health inequity in Alberta thus informing meaningful solutions for people of African descent in Alberta.

Moréniké’s message to the Black community is simple yet impactful: Mobilize - Collaborate - Build.

Email: Admin@kemet.care Insta: @arewacanada Phone: 1-800-761-0565

Keenan Pascal, sharing both Caribbean and Metis heritage, is the man behind Token Naturals. Injecting diversity and innovation into this new market, Token Naturals is a cannabis extraction and manufacturing company. Its sister company Token Bitters creates locallymade, handcrafted aromatic bitters. He boasts that his Token Bitters Ritchie Cherry would add the perfect finishing touch on a strong rum punch.

If given the choice of mentors, Keenan would choose Barak Obama who inspired him to be a more thoughtful leader and to always seek the greater good. While he applies these lessons, he also implores Black entrepreneurs to not shy away from asking for seat at the table. There is value for a company in adding diverse thoughts, backgrounds and experiences.

“Ask for help; it is not a sign of weakness. The team you build through peers, mentorship, staff, and friends will pay huge dividends if you’re willing to put yourself out there in the community.” Contact: www.TokenNaturals.com & www.TokenBitters.com Email: Keenan@TokenNaturals.com Insta: @TokenNaturals @TokenBitters

Born in Lesotho and raised in Zimbabwe, Lungile Tinarwo known fondly as Lulu, is the founder of Tinarwo Law. Her firm practices in the areas of Family, Immigration and Criminal Law.

As a Black woman, Lulu has beat the odds by sustaining her practice beyond 5 years and is currently boldly growing her firm with a commitment to Black professionals in this field. This tenacity runs in her blood; her mother’s own story of determination and achievements championed the way and provided lifelong lessons that continue to propel Lulu to greater accomplishments.

Looking forward, her hope is for an equitable playing field – one that no longer demands the same output when the rules are not the same; one that removes socio-economic and systemic barriers allowing successes to be measured only by merit. She also hopes that the world eventually recognizes imbalances in the system that young Black professionals are forced to maneuver and still manage to thrive in. Contact: www.tinarwolaw.com Email: reception@tinarwolaw.com Phone: 780-702-1077

Canadian born with strong Trinidadian roots, Anisha Reindorf stands as one of the first Black women to break into the Cannabis market that has boomed since legalization. Her company, HighKu.Co creates natural, 100% vegan and common gluten free edibles that elevate your senses to a ‘Higher Level’. While she does not recall the details of her father’s battle with Multiple Sclerosis, she does recall his use of marijuana to ease his pain before eventually succumbing to the disease. 20 years later, her closest friend facing this familiar battle, spurred her to explore infused foods.

Combating ignorance and misconceptions, she’s breaking the stigma behind the amazing plant, through education and myth busting. Cannabis (marijuana) is a plant that contains biologically active substances in its leaves, flowers, and buds. She harnesses the benefits, through extracts that are incorporated in cooking. On her list of favourite cannabis-infused comfort foods are hummus, cookiedough and popcorn.

Contact: www.HighKuCo.com (under construction) Email: Info@Highkuco.com Insta: @Level.Of_Ambrosia