Alfred Burgesson — 2025 Emerging Leader Award

“In this time of people pushing back on DEI and worrying if they have to change their strategy, it’s important to not think about DEI as a side project. DEI should be embedded in your organization as part of investing in excellence. All research shows that if you have [women], if you have racial diversity on your teams, you’re going to be more profitable.” 

“It came down to finding people that had common interests, common goals, common values … I wanted to make friends, and I wanted to find my tribe,” says Alfred Burgesson of the genesis of Tribe Network, which he founded four years ago.  

Driven by an entrepreneurial mindset, he had been disappointed when he sought support at an innovation hub for a digital media company started in his first year at St. Mary’s University. “I just didn’t feel that I belonged. They didn’t necessarily understand my lived experience,” he explains. “I don’t hold it against them or anything like that. That’s not how I operate. I just thought, well, if here’s not the place, I’ll go find that place.”  

That place is situated on two floors in a heritage building in Halifax. Over 2,000 members, the majority of whom are in Atlantic Canada, have free entry to the community space where they can work, network, access technology and meet with coaches and mentors. Tribal Network holds virtual coaching sessions as well.  

Burgesson has big plans to build a self-sustaining global network. “I love the freedom to build something and to market it and to have other people adopt it,” he says. About 60 percent of its funding comes from the government, both provincial and federal; the rest from private sources.  

“I didn’t start Tribe to have my hand out every year,” says Burgesson, who was recognized as a 30 under 30 Innovator by Atlantic Business and a Changemaker by The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine in 2023. His not-for-profit organization provides grants from $500 to $5,000 to entrepreneurs. Now, he’s building a venture fund that could make investments up to $1 million into entrepreneurial initiatives.  

“Two years ago, when we said we’re going to raise a $20 million venture fund, people in Atlantic Canada were [like], ‘Oh, that seems so much! Why don’t you start with $5 million?’ Some people laughed at us. ‘Who’s this kid? Does he really think he can do this?’”  

Recently, Tribe Network secured a lead investor who put in $2 million. Other investors are now jumping in. His goal is to reach $10 million by September and the remainder by the spring of 2026. The fund will be operational this fall, he says, explaining that they’ve been developing a pipeline of viable entrepreneurs through events held all across Canada.   

In a short period of time, Burgesson has fulfilled the dreams of his parents. The youngest of three siblings, he and his family immigrated from Ghana when he was six years old. His father, a nautical engineer who worked globally, had to get recertified in Canada and found the courses he needed in Port Hawkesbury, Cape Breton. “My Dad literally started at the bottom again.” His mother also went back to school. The family, who had a comfortable life in Ghana, lived in a two-bedroom apartment for four years. “This is not a vacation,” his parents explained. “We’re here for you to take this opportunity and make the best of it.” His elder brother is now a medical doctor. His sister works for an advertising agency.  

“I just didn’t feel that I belonged. They didn’t necessarily understand my lived experience. I don’t hold it against them or anything like that. That’s not how I operate. I just thought, well, if here’s not the place, I’ll go find that place.”  

In Halifax Grammar School, Burgesson, who was a gifted basketball player as a teenager, ranked among the top 50 in Canada for his age group, soon discovered his entrepreneurial skills. An after-school program called Junior Achievement identified his marketing skills for various products. “I had ideas,” he says simply.  

And he had ambition. He applied to become part of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council but was turned down. He applied again and was accepted for a two-year term in 2019. “It gave us the opportunity to share our ideas, to share our lived experience so they could make better informed decisions,” he says of the meetings with government officials and the Prime Minister. “One of the things I learned was you can say whatever you want to the Prime Minister. But if there’s no political will in the government, it’s going to be hard for it to become a priority. You have to think, ‘How do I get the other parties or other local representatives to buy into this idea such that they bring it up at the next caucus meeting or at the cabinet table?’” It was about “strategic influencing,” he says.

In 2021, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, he was appointed as project lead on a research project for Senator Colin Deacon, a Nova Scotian who had worked as an entrepreneur before entering politics. Inclusive Entrepreneurship, Exploring the barriers facing black entrepreneurs in Canada, a project with Abacus Data, highlighted key issues: 76 percent of black entrepreneurs surveyed said their race made it harder to succeed as a business owner. Access to capital was among the top three challenges they faced — 75 percent said if they needed to find $10,000 to support their business, it would be difficult to achieve, citing a widespread “low trust” in banks. Previous to the study, information about barriers had been anecdotal, Burgesson explains. “But with the survey, it was, ‘Here’s the data. Now, what are you going to do with it?’ It was a matter of shining a light on the issues.” 

He acknowledges that the Diversity Equity Inclusivity trend may be waning. “The pendulum has swung,” he says, noting political developments in the United States and the possible change of federal government in Canada. “We have to be aware of what’s coming. But at the same time, I have so much faith in my team, my board, our vision, that I don’t see that what we’re doing as a DEI initiative. 

“In this time of people pushing back on DEI and worrying if they have to change their strategy, it’s important to not think about DEI as a side project. DEI should be embedded in your organization as part of investing in excellence. All research shows that if you have [women], if you have racial diversity on your teams, you’re going to be more profitable in the business world.”