Opportunities that African migrants in Canada should take advantage of were spelt out by Beausoleil Victor Emmanuel Mervyn, co-founder and Executive Director, Social Economy Through Social Inclusion (SETSI), who recently declared: “My colleagues and I at SETSI aim to ensure peoples of African descent in Canada are engaged as full citizens with political, and economic power and sovereignty.”

Continuing, he explained further how SETSI, a forum that seeks economic development for the African Canadian community, help the black community in Canada: “We facilitate an incubator and accelerator for African Canadian businesses and start-ups.

We advocate for greater inclusion, diversity, equity and access within the social finance, social economy, and community economic development sectors within Canada. We also facilitate weekly capacity-building webinars for community members seeking to scale innovation and cultivate greater impact in the entrepreneurial initiatives.”

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Vicsoleil, as he is better known on Instagram, disclosed his special focus on helping businesses to employ, partner or collaborate with African Canadian and subsequently generate revenue for families or develop a product or service that changes lives.

Giving a specific example, he noted that Nigeria is a country with some of the most successful entrepreneurs in Africa. “I want to add my expertise and experience to bridge the gap for some of those Nigerians that need just a bit of support to get funding or other assistance to get their business concepts to the stage of reality,¨ he said.

A widely travelled man, Vicsoleil did not hide his passion for the advancement of Africa and community development on the continent, saying: “My connection to Africa began at the age of nineteen when I co-founded African Educators of Toronto in 2003 with my wife and a few of my colleagues and I have been supporting community development work in Ghana since I was twenty-one years old.”