Applications are now open for Cohort 1 of the Black AI Venture Accelerator (BAIVA), a venture development and commercialization accelerator designed to help Black entrepreneurs turn promising ideas into AI-enabled businesses built for market, growth and investment.

Up to 25 entrepreneurs from Southern Ontario will be selected for the inaugural cohort, beginning October 1, 2026. Applications close September 18, 2026.

From Opportunity to Market

Artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities across industries, but building a successful AI-enabled venture requires more than understanding the technology.

Founders need to identify a real problem, validate market demand, develop the right solution, build a viable business model and create a pathway to customers and commercialization.

BAIVA is designed around that journey.

Over 10 months, selected entrepreneurs will progress through a structured venture-development pathway covering opportunity discovery, customer and market validation, AI solution development, commercialization, investment readiness and growth.

The journey is built around a simple objective:

Discover. Validate. Build. Commercialize.

What Selected Founders Receive

BAIVA is not simply an AI course. It combines applied AI with practical entrepreneurship and commercialization support.

Selected founders will have access to AI and technical specialists, one-on-one business advisory, founder coaching and mentorship, product development expertise, go-to-market and pricing support, financial modelling, intellectual property guidance, cybersecurity and data privacy guidance, market connections, investment-readiness support and Demo Day opportunities.

There is no program fee for selected Cohort 1 participants.

Who Should Apply?

BAIVA is built for ambitious Black entrepreneurs developing a credible business opportunity where AI can play a meaningful role.

You could be validating an early-stage idea, developing an MVP, adding an AI-enabled opportunity to an existing business, or preparing a venture for commercialization and growth.

You do not need to be an AI engineer or know how to code. BAIVA is designed for entrepreneurs, with technical expertise available throughout the journey.

Applicants must be 18 or older, self-identify as Black, and reside in, operate a business in, or be developing a venture primarily based in Southern Ontario.

Your Idea Could Become What’s Next

The opportunity presented by AI is not only about using new technology. It is also about who gets to build new products, create businesses, own intellectual property and participate in the economic value being created.

BAIVA is about helping more Black entrepreneurs do exactly that.

Applications close September 18, 2026. Cohort 1 begins October 1, 2026.

Apply Now: https://blacktechhub.org/baiva/

Applications are currently open for BAIVA Cohort 1.