Dream Maker Ventures Launches Diversity Program Targeting Unrepresented Entrepreneurs

Dream Maker Ventures, the investment arm of Dream Maker Corp (DMC), is launching a new partnership model with the philanthropic arm of DM/C, Dream Legacy Foundation. DMC is a Toronto-based asset management firm focused on real-estate and insurance.

Dream Maker Ventures will work with five partner organizations to provide entrepreneurial programming for tech founders in five marginalized communities: Indigenous peoples (through the Centre for Indigenous Innovation and Technology), persons with disabilities (through Access to Success), LGBTQA+ (through Venture Out), refugees (through Jumpstart), and newcomers to Canada (through Scale without Borders).

Dream Maker Ventures will be responsible for sourcing the funding required to run the programs, the amount of which has not yet been disclosed. Dream Maker Ventures will also provide a network of experts to host workshops and support programming for the entrepreneurs, along with helping to facilitate introductions with potential investors. The first program to launch will be the Access to Success Program which will focus on entrepreneurs with disabilities.

As reported by BetaKit, the idea for the program came from a previous successful Dream Maker Venture initiative, the Black Innovation Fellowship, and from Communitech’s Fierce Founders. The Black Innovation Fellowship provides $1 million annually to ten start-ups in Ryerson’s incubator network that are led by Black entrepreneurs. Fierce Founders provides $500,000 annually to early-stage start-ups run by females.

Author: Ida Mahmoudi, 2019/2020 Articling Student-at-law