The third iteration of a networking event tailored to Black entrepreneurs, professionals and students is returning to Toronto this weekend — and a large cash prize is up for grabs.
The BLAXPO conference, hosted on Friday and Saturday at the Toronto Reference Library, provides attendees the chance to connect with companies and experts across multiple sectors.
This year’s event includes a pitching competition with a $10,000 cash grand prize for Black entrepreneurs within the tech field. According to conference co-founder Nicole Antoine, the prize will go to a Black entrepreneur with a viable business idea worth more than just the money.
“We're really looking for someone that has an interesting problem that they're solving; someone that is kind of holistic in terms of their journey and in terms of what's the contribution to the community,” Antoine told TorontoToday.
Closed-door pitches will take place on Friday, with three finalists putting forward their ideas to the entire conference on Saturday.
A separate “hack-a-thon” style competition event will see a winner receive one-on-one mentorship from an industry expert and potentially land a job.
Other job seekers can attend the conference for professional help crafting resumes and snapping headshots.
The central theme for this year’s conference is “Let Equity Bloom,” which Antoine said will highlight the push for fair treatment toward Black Canadians within the working world.
“We're not looking for a free pass, we're not looking for a leg up,” Antoine explained. “We're just looking to be heard and understood and be a part of the equation in terms of making this better.”
She said there are stereotypes and biases ingrained in the professional world that create barriers for Black Canadians, which can lead to resumes being rejected due to an applicant’s name or denial of a business loan from a bank.
“This event is supposed to kind of [even] the playing field,” Antoine said of BLAXPO. “It's really putting us on a pedestal to combat any negative stereotypes that lay within the infrastructures, whether it's hiring or just giving that entrepreneur or founder that opportunity.”
The conference was first held in 2022. Antoine said its initial purpose was to help find solutions to broader career-building hurdles and the lack of generational wealth for Black Canadians.
To Antoine, finding a good job is a step in addressing these issues.
“You can change your environment by having a good job, you can change generations,” Antoine said. “You can create a legacy by having a good job.”
The co-founder added the event has quadrupled in size since its first iteration was held, with the capacity for attendees now at around 1,000.
Antoine said it has been an emotional experience receiving social media messages from past attendees about how the conference helped them professionally.
“It's very moving hearing people say that I got them their first six figure job, that I got them their first speaking opportunity, that I got them access to their first grant,” she said.
