She helps Black entrepreneurs overcome financial barriers to growth

CBC Quebec is highlighting people from the province's Black communities who are giving back, inspiring others and helping to shape our future. These are the 2023 Black Changemakers.

When Tiffany Callender moved from Montreal's Cartierville neighbourhood to the West Island in 1992, hers was the only Black family on their block.

It was such a culture shock for her 10-year-old self, she said, that her mother would take her back to Cartierville or to Côte-des-Neiges on weekends to reorient herself.

"It felt like we moved to another place, like another country," Callender said. "You can't find the things that you're used to — like go around the corner and get a patty."

A couple of years later, seeking the familiarity of shared cultural ties, she was so determined to become a counsellor at the Black Family Association of the West Island summer camp that she fudged her age by a year to qualify for the job.

"It seemed as though it was destined for me to have that experience — to watch Black women in leadership — because our camps were run by all the moms and aunties," she said.

"If you put community at the middle of a child's experience, it becomes a part of the way that they look at the world, like: 'I have something to give.'"

Now 40, the co-founder and CEO of the Federation of African Canadian Economics (FACE) is dedicated to helping Black Canadians prosper financially.

FACE's Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund provides capital to Black business owners with the ultimate aim of creating intergenerational wealth for Black Canadians.

"The ripple effects of slavery and colonization made it so that we don't have assets to leverage," said Callender, "... to be able to start and grow businesses."

Supported by the federal government, the loan program is the first of its kind in the G7, she said, approving more than $30 million in loans for Black-owned businesses across Canada since its inception.

'Ultimate strategic mind'

Callender has "the ultimate strategic mind," says her friend and collaborator, Thierry Lindor.

The Montreal tech entrepreneur has known Callender since CEGEP and describes her as the ying to his yang. Her knack for navigating the federal grant system has helped her turn ideas into viable social projects, he said.

Lindor has worked with Callender on several social initiatives, including Colors of COVID — an online platform to collect race-based data on the pandemic's impacts. Its survey results showed respondents most affected by the virus were from low-income households, mostly made up of non-white residents.

That project was "one of the things I'm most proud of that I've ever done in my life, and that's with her," Lindor said.

Their first collaboration was in 2016. In an effort to turn underprivileged teenagers from his Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood into readers, Lindor came up with the idea of paying them minimum wage to read books, cover to cover.

He says Callender was the first person who believed in his "Readers are Leaders" initiative. It is like that for every project Callender backs, he says.

"Without Tiffany, these projects don't exist," he said. "Tiffany's superpower is her ability to [make them] materialize and navigate a system that is not made for us."

Callender says the beauty of working on all of the many projects in which she is involved is that she is always meeting new people from the African diaspora.

Every person's experience as a Black Canadian is unique, she says, but they all share common experience, too — and she takes comfort in that.

"That's community to me," she said.

The Black Changemakers is a special series recognizing individuals who, regardless of background or industry, are driven to create a positive impact in their community. From tackling problems to showing small gestures of kindness on a daily basis, these changemakers are making a difference and inspiring others. Meet all the changemakers here.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.