A New Era of Opportunity for Black Entrepreneurship in STEM
On August 14, 2026, Nobellum hosted the first annual Nobellum Summit at The Globe and Mail in Toronto, bringing together founders, scientists, investors, capital partners, and ecosystem leaders to advance Black entrepreneurship in STEM.
Together, the community gathered around a shared goal: helping Black-led STEM businesses access capital, commercialize their ideas and scale.
Throughout the Summit, Nobellum made six major announcements designed to turn that goal into tangible opportunities for entrepreneurs.
$193,000 in non-dilutive funding
Nobellum awarded $193,000 in non-dilutive funding to entrepreneurs across its Idea, Growth and Global programs giving founders capital without requiring them to give up ownership.
The funding supports entrepreneurs at different stages, from developing an idea to growing an established company and expanding into global markets.
More ways to access capital
Through the Capital Corridor, founders connected directly with organizations offering different ways to finance and grow their businesses.
They explored venture capital, business loans, government contracts, supplier opportunities and entrepreneurship through acquisition, while investment leaders shared how each option works and when it may make sense.
The message was clear: not every business needs the same type of capital.
New infrastructure for STEM founders
Growing a STEM company requires more than funding. Founders also need places to build, test and commercialize their ideas.
Nobellum introduced its STEM Facility Database, connecting entrepreneurs with specialized facilities across Canada, including robotics facilities, chemistry labs, wet labs and coworking spaces.
The goal is to make it easier for founders to access the infrastructure they need to move an innovation from idea to market.
Preparing founders to go global
Through a new partnership with the World Trade Centre, Nobellum is creating opportunities for earlier-stage entrepreneurs to access export training and prepare to sell and grow internationally. Vice President of The World Trade Centre, Jon Warren, joined the ceremony to give an address. ”If you want to attract capital, you have to grow outside Canada, so having a strategy and roadmap for that is really important. We are excited about this opportunity to build with Nobellum companies and to get going in January."
- Jon Warren
The partnership builds on Nobellum’s broader work connecting entrepreneurs and opportunities across Canada, the Caribbean and Africa.
From patents to businesses
The Summit also celebrated a new partnership with Lanterna and the Canadian Black Scientist Network which supported six Black scientists representing more than 120 patents. Together, we are focused on helping Scientists turn their research ideas into businesses.
By connecting scientific expertise with entrepreneurship, capital and commercialization support, Nobellum is working to help more Black-led innovation make its way into the market.
The STEM Innovator Awards sponsored by CIBC.
The Melamoon Toronto Top 10
In partnership with Melamoon, the Toronto Top 10 regional finalists were announced live on the Nobellum Summit stage.
The finalists will move on to compete nationally for $200,000 in non-dilutive funding, while gaining greater visibility with investors, partners and the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem. Huge congratulations to Nobellum Alumni Abdel Ali, Kiwi Charge and current Growth cohort founders Tony, B1 2 Give and Kemi Bolatito, Rolla
One mission: bring Black business ideas to life
Over the past six years, Nobellum has supported more than 18,000 founders, helped launch 121 businesses who generated more than $30 million in revenue.
The Nobellum Summit represents the next chapter of that work.
Build the idea. Access capital. Commercialize. Scale. Go global.
Six announcements, each addressing a different part of that journey and all working toward one mission: bringing Black business ideas to life.
Nobellum. We bring ideas to life.
