(TORONTO) – February 1, 2021 – Alterna Savings (Alterna) invites you to celebrate Black History Month with us all February long. This year’s theme, The Black Family, is being examined through the lens of Black entrepreneurship and how it impacts Black families.

Our main event – a virtual panel-discussion, hosted by Alterna’s Community Impact and Member Experience team – provides a platform for Black business owners to promote the importance of Black entrepreneurship and investigate ways to overcome systemic barriers to securing funding and their success.

Led by a panel of award-winning Black entrepreneurs, this conversation will inspire and motivate others while exploring new ways to support the success of Black communities.

We hope you will join us on February 18 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm (EST) for our conversation, Honouring the Role of the Black Entrepreneur and their vital contribution to addressing the generational wealth gap for Black families. Learn more and register here.

Alterna is proud to be working alongside BIPOC communities to improve economic equality and representation. For the past 20 years, through our award-winning Community Microfinance Program, we have worked with many community partners, nonprofits, stakeholders, and academia to reach diverse equity-seeking communities across Ontario.

Currently, Alterna’s entrepreneurship and professional development portfolio is made up of 72% racialized Canadians of which 34% are Black and 58% are female-identified. Given our leadership in this space, we continue to push to provide the needed capital to as many underserved entrepreneurs as possible to help them realize their dreams and ambitions. In September 2020, we were invited to partner with the federal government, alongside the largest financial institutions in Canada, to develop the country’s first ever Black Entrepreneurship Program.

If you have any questions, or for more information about Alterna’s Community Microfinance Program, please contact Microfinance@alterna.ca.

About Alterna Savings
Alterna Savings and Credit Union Limited (Alterna) has been the good in banking for 112 years! Alterna is made up of Alterna Savings and Credit Union Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Alterna Bank. Together, we have $10 billion in assets under management.

As the first full-service, member-owned co-operative financial institution outside Quebec, Alterna Savings shares its expertise with more than 185,000 members through a network of 36 branches across Ontario, that includes partner Peterborough Community Savings; as well as call centre and digital channels. Members and customers also benefit from an industry-leading online brokerage, investment management services, and have access to the largest surcharge-free ATM network in Canada through THE EXCHANGE® Network, with over 3,700 ATMs to serve them.