Thank you for the question.
I will not attempt to answer on behalf of businesses, since the program is aimed primarily at non-profit organizations. We don't consider an organization's application from a risk assessment perspective. Rather, we look at the organization's potential and whether it meets the needs of the community it serves, among other things.
Consider the following example. I know of one organization that was new and had a really hard time getting any funding, because it had never dealt with any government or private entities. We funded the launch of that organization, which had a program and objectives. We helped them design a strategic and organizational plan, develop their activities and establish their governance structure. This new organization received funding through our initiative and was able to offer its services to the community. This company offers support services on starting up a new business. It had planned to fund only five start-ups in the first year, but thanks to our investment, it was able to fund 12.
That's the kind of effect the initiative can have. Our support is not given directly to businesses, but rather to organizations that have a mandate to serve the Black community.