A Bluetooth-enabled hard hat, a wellness-inspired foodtech startup, and a clean skincare brand all took home prizes at the inaugural Melamoon pitch competition for Black founders in Toronto.
“I think it’s important that we show the relationships that exist above the political climate that we’re in: that people always find a way to work together, build strength, be resilient, and move forward.”
Following a two-week intensive program to refine their companies and pitches, six finalists from a cohort of 50 founders presented their business ideas to a panel of judges at The Globe and Mail Centre in Toronto on Sept. 27, with a total of $200,000 in non-dilutive cash up for grabs.
Jamaal Bond took home the $100,000 grand prize for Evitavonni Construction’s Sound Armour, a digitally enabled hard hat meant to improve safety and communication among workers on construction sites. The hat integrates voice and audio transmission along with weather updates and danger alerts.
The second-place winner of $50,000 was Biola Oluwajuyigbe, founder and CEO of Healx Foods, which produces comfort foods (like cauliflower fries) with clean ingredients. The company sells in more than 100 grocery stores across Canada, including Sobeys and Avril.
Chevon Riley won $25,000 for skincare brand Natural Organic Matters (NORM), which makes moisturizers with simple ingredients such as almond butter and hazelnut oil. The people’s choice award went to Dr. Phyllis Pobee for her women-focused digital health and fitness platform GeneLean360.
“We’ll be using the winnings to bring this innovative technology into the hands of every woman who deserves to feel like her healthiest, most vibrant self,” Pobee told BetaKit.
Melamoon is a collaborative organization between the Federation of African Canadian Economics (FACE) Coalition, a national organization for Black entrepreneurs, and Black Ambition, an American non-profit founded by musician Pharrell Williams that aims to close the wealth gap for under-represented founders.
The judges included Regina Gwynn, co-founder of Black Girls Talk Tech; Michael Hyatt, entrepreneur and former Dragon’s Den investor; Erik Moore, founder and managing director Base Ventures; and Tanya Walker, a commercial litigation lawyer and board director for the Law Society of Ontario. Canadian Minister of Women and Gender Equality Rechie Valdez also attended the ceremony.
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Melamoon claimed that the $200,000 it awarded is the largest amount of equity cash prizes awarded to Black founders in Canada. Black founders face a funding gap in Canada compared to other groups, according to a report by RepMatters and BKR Capital: fewer than one percent of venture dollars have gone to Black-led companies in Canada since 2020. The report estimated that $312 million in additional funding was needed in 2024 to match Black founders’ representation in the Canadian population.
The organization’s boosting of Black talent comes as some of the corporate world has rolled back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. An analysis by The Globe and Mail found a sharp drop in the number of Canadian companies willing to share diversity metrics since 2021.
“I think it’s important that we show the relationships that exist above the political climate that we’re in: that people always find a way to work together, build strength, be resilient, and move forward,” Tiffany Callendar, co-founder and CEO of FACE Coalition, said at the event in conversation with sponsor The Brandon Gonez Show.
But some organizations in Canada continue to financially support entrepreneurs from under-represented backgrounds. Ontario’s Black Entrepreneurship Alliance recently received $2.4 million from a federal agency. The Melamoon event received financial support from the Canadian government and the Crown corporation Business Development Bank of Canada, as well as Interac, TD Bank, Now Toronto, and Black Women Talk Tech.
Feature image courtesy The Federation of African Canadian Economics.