DMZ's Black Innovation Summit prize pool falls to $170,000

Venture capital, the money investors put into young firms, rarely reaches Black founders: a report by BKR Capital and Rep Matters found that only 0.15% of it deployed in Canada in 2025 went to them.

BetaKit reported that three Black-led businesses won a combined $170,000 at the sixth annual DMZ Black Innovation Summit, down from a record $400,000 last year. DMZ, a start-up incubator housed inside Toronto Metropolitan University, hosted the event.

Hey Cleo, an education-technology platform, won the top prize: $100,000 in investment from DMZ Ventures plus a $10,000 grant from the Black Founders Network. Cuvris, which automates transitional care follow-ups, received $50,000 in investment from DMZ Ventures.

DMZ said in a news release that investing in Black founders is a strategic imperative that drives economic growth. For context, Toronto’s professional, scientific and technical jobs rose from 249,000 in 2006 to 532,000 in 2024, Statistics Canada said.

Whether the prize pool returns to last year’s level is not yet known.

Sources: BetaKit · Statistics Canada