Immigrant businesses succeeding in Canada are becoming a defining force in the country’s economy. In 2023 alone, 34% of entrepreneurs in Canada were immigrants. This number is expected to reach up to 40% in 2034, with one in two entrepreneurs expected to have been born outside of Canada. Additionally, immigrants in Canada are 40% more likely than native-born Canadians to own businesses in knowledge-based and technology sectors. This figure stands at 42% across the board.
This is the story of four immigrant businesses succeeding in Canada.
Real Stories of Immigrant Businesses Succeeding in Canada
Bolaji Akintola’s Divine African Market
Before leaving Lagos in 2018, Bolaji Akintola had already laid the groundwork for her future business in Canada. After learning that African immigrants in Fredericton were missing their traditional foods, she began developing plans for Divine African Market while still in Nigeria.
Akintola arrived in Fredericton with 14 years of banking experience. She had left behind Lagos’s 21 million residents for a city of just 63,000. Inspired by her entrepreneurial mother, Florence Akintokun, who she recalls could sell “anything and everything,” she launched Divine African Market from her home shortly after arriving.
Starting from her small apartment, Akintola grew the business until December 2019, when she opened a brick-and-mortar store in Fredericton’s uptown area. The market has since expanded beyond her expectations, with products now being sold through retail outlets in Woodstock, Moncton, and Dieppe.
The store became a cultural hub that offered West African jollof rice spices, African soup spices, fufu, meats, produce and dried goods. It serves customers from across Africa, the Caribbean and Brazil, as well as local Fredericton residents eager to explore new flavours.
To help customers navigate African cuisine, Akintola provides an electronic cookbook with Nigerian recipes and step-by-step cooking instructions. While managing the store on weekends and off-hours, Akintola maintains her full-time position as an internal audit manager with the New Brunswick government, with staff running the market on weekdays.
“Opportunities come to only those that prepared,” Akintola told CBC Canada, embodying her belief in intentional planning and determination.
Chika Dike’s Trendy Thrift Store
When Chika Dike and her family arrived in Sudbury, Ontario from Nigeria in 2019, they experienced firsthand the warmth of community support. Valley Pentecostal Church stepped in to help them and provided them with basic household items as they settled into their new life in Canada.
Remembering the assistance she received during those early days, Dike decided to pay the kindness forward. With more immigrants arriving in Sudbury, she saw an opportunity to help others who might be in the same position she once was. This led her to open Trendy Thrift Store in July 2023. The store found its home in a modest space within a strip mall on Lasalle Boulevard.
Inside, customers can find second-hand clothing, children’s toys, books, electronicsto and cutlery.
Notably, Dike maintains a box of free items available to anyone in need. While the store’s initial inspiration came from wanting to help newcomers find affordable items, Dike envisions serving broader Sudbury community. She plans add a small food bank within same space.
The venture remains a work in progress, with plans to grow larger and expand their community impact through the food bank initiative. But she is sure about her aims. “We are here to support everyone, not just Nigerian immigrants,” Dike told CBC Canada.
ToLagos: How Victoria Adefala and Funmise Oladeji Brought Lagos Flavours to Hamilton
Ever had that moment when you’re craving a taste of home, but can’t find it anywhere? That’s exactly what sparked the couple, Victoria Adefala and Funmise Oladeji’s journey to creating one of Hamilton’s most beloved African restaurants. In 2018, the Nigerian community was growing in the city. But there was absolutely zero restaurants serving their homeland’s cuisine. In this lack, the couple spotted an opportunity that was too good to pass up.
They kicked things off with catering, whipping up authentic Lagos dishes for events and gatherings. But people kept calling and requesting smaller portions. Turns out, once people got a taste of their food, they didn’t want to wait for the next big event to enjoy it again!
Fast-forward to today and you will find TOLagos Bar and Grill in their own space at 54 James St. N. They’re right in the middle of what’s becoming Hamilton’s international food hub that serves up those authentic Lagos flavours they grew up with.
“If you want to adapt to the new market, you have to build it,” Oladeji would tell CBC Canada.
Asha Wheeldon’s Kula Foods
As a young girl in Isiolo, Kenya, Asha Wheeldon‘s earliest memories revolve around community and food. She would carry water from the well to nourish crops on her community’s farm. She would harvest collard greens with relatives and neighbors and gather around fires to share meals. Her childhood favourite was wasugali, a thick porridge made from manually ground maize meal. The dish embodied the simplicity and wholesomeness of their plant-based diet.
At age 11, Wheeldon’s life changed when she moved to Toronto. In this new world, she found comfort in unexpected places. The aromatic Indian curries and Trinidadian roti she discovered at friends’ homes reminded her of the stews and chapatis from Kenya. Twenty years later, in 2015, Wheeldon faced another significant transition when she relocated to Vancouver.
As a mother reconsidering her career in telecom, she found herself scanning store shelves in search of African foods to feed her family. The absence of these products in Vancouver stores, relegated mostly to ‘ethnic aisles’, sparked an entrepreneurial vision.
In 2018, Wheeldon launched Kula Foods, ‘kula‘ meaning ‘eat‘ in Swahili. As a vegetarian, she focused on the plant-based cooking of her childhood. She started a commissary kitchen and began creating Afro-vegan products for farmers market. Her business soon expanded to online sales, catering and wholesale distributing to local stores like Oh Carolina and Be Fresh Local Market.
Her signature creation, pili pili sauce, combines tomatoes, bird’s eye chili peppers, garlic, berbere (an Ethiopian spice blend), lemon juice and apple cider vinegar, a versatile condiment that brings warmth and flavour to any savoury dish. Another popular product, the Ribz Bites, features soy chunks marinated in house-made red pepper barbecue sauce. Instead of traditional sugar, Wheeldon uses monk fruit, red peppers and tomatoes for natural sweetness. These versatile protein alternatives have found their way onto the menus of local restaurants, including pizzerias.
Want to Join the Ranks of Immigrant Businesses Succeeding in Canada?
You don’t need a million-dollar idea or a network of insiders. You need a vision, a plan and the right guidance. Whether you’re an international student with a side hustle, a permanent resident looking to formalize a craft, or a newcomer dreaming of launching a food stall, we’ve got you covered. Our complete guide covers the following:
- How to choose a business structure
- How to register your business
- How to open a business account
- Everything related to taxes, permits and licences
- How to fund your businesses
- Other relevant information pertaining to international students, residents and non-residents.
Get Started Here.
