Building an Ecosystem to usher in a new era of Black-owned businesses in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math

BY PAUL JUNOR

There is no doubt that the future is bright and brilliant for University of Toronto graduate Melissa Ellis as she excels in entrepreneurship and innovation. Her success story was featured in the February issue of the University of Toronto’s online magazine, which can be seen at utsc.utoronto.ca.

Melissa graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) specialist degree in history and a minor in African studies in 2015. Her volunteering experience on the U of T Scarborough campus nurtured her gifts and abilities and honed her talents. It inculcated “Valuable transferable skills in project coordination, communication, and leadership – all of which buoyed her confidence to pivot and pursue software engineering after graduation.”

Ellis states, “I was beginning to see that it doesn’t matter what industry you go into: tech is coming. Whether you’re in law, accounting, you name it. Managers will be asking, ‘How good are you with databases? How good are you with SOL?’ By adding tech to your skillset, you’re training to become a leader across departments. You can become a unicorn.”

She started Nobellum Enterprise (Nobellum) in 2020 which according to her website: nobellum.com is “A non-profit social and technology enterprise dedicated to carving out a space in the technology industry for Black founders in STEM. We are a community of Black and Indigenous People of Color who believes that the time to break into the tech industry is now. Together, we are building an ecosystem to usher in a new era of Black-owned businesses in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM).”

The purpose of Nobellum is, “To connect, To innovate, To fund” and its vision is, “To create a safe space for Black youth in tech and entrepreneurship. Where tech meets non-tech.” This cutting-edge and revolutionary organization is futuristic, optimistic, and realistic in its short-term goals. The mandate is “By 2025, Nobellum will launch at least 100 Black-owned start-ups in STEM.”

I interviewed Natassia Morris from DAYO Media & Communications on Wednesday, February 16^th,^, 2022 regarding the positive aspects of this new social and technology enterprise. She informed me that Melissa Ellis has been making major inroads in the technological field through her creativity, originality, and ingenuity. There is a team that works with Melissa, which includes Malcolm Wright who serves as Director of Operations at Nobellum. Malcolm states, “The goal is not only to equip Black students with transferable skills and knowledge but also to forge and amplify pathways towards a more diverse and inclusive tech industry for Black entrepreneurs nationwide.”

Nobellum partnered with the U of T’s Scarborough’s campus-linked accelerators: The Bridge and The Hub, along with the Black Founders and the University of Toronto Entrepreneurship community. Natassia told me about the launch of the Nobellum Innovator Program held on Saturday, February 26^th, 2022. It featured Melissa Ellis as well as other Nobellum team members: Stephanie Perpick, Dave Fenton, Efosa Obano, Donovan Dill, Gray Graffam, Miranda Cain, and Rustum Southwell. Nobellum is poised to take the tech world by storm. There are great days ahead for this initiative.