Pizza Hut Canada Sponsors Equal Slice Program to Provide Free Training, Education, and Mentorship to Underrepresented Canadian Small Business Owners
Entrepreneurs across Canada invited to apply to the tuition-free virtual “mini-MBA” program
ROXBURY, Mass., August 3, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Pizza Hut Canada has partnered with Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) to offer a free executive education and virtual training program designed to help strengthen and grow minority, immigrant, indigenous, and disabled-owned small businesses throughout Canada.
Through this strategic partnership, dubbed Pizza Hut’s Equal Slice Program, a cohort of ICIC’s Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program— a tuition-free, 40-hour “mini-MBA” program that combines executive education, webinars, and coaching delivered by top-ranking university professors and local experts— is being offered to small business owners across Canada. The Equal Slice Program is now accepting applications from businesses in underrepresented communities for the ICCC Canada cohort that begins in late September.
“Pizza Hut exists on a foundation of entrepreneurship, built on our franchise network, with each restaurant compiled of a diverse and varied team of employees,” said Pizza Hut Canada General Manager Tatiana Carrascal. “At Pizza Hut, we believe we can achieve a system of fair and equal slices in life, for everyone. That’s why we’ve partnered with Initiative for a Competitive Inner City to give entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds a chance to make their dreams a reality. Our new Equal Slice Program provides underrepresented small business owners with access to capital, coaching, and capability-building education at no cost. Pizza Hut is committed to providing financial grants, educational tools, and support to these exceptional individuals across Canada. Through this program we are committed to supporting growth of underrepresented entrepreneurs in our communities and providing everyone an equal slice of opportunity.”
The 2021 cohort marks the first time ICCC has been offered outside the United States. It also marks the first cohort that will be presented in both English and Canadian French. Since 2005, ICCC has supported 3,836 U.S.-based companies that have raised $2.3B USD in capital, achieved 126% revenue growth, and created 22,707 local jobs since their participation in the program. In 2020, 17 ICCC cohorts were offered throughout the U.S. that included 74% BIPOC-owned and 61% woman-owned businesses.
“The Inner City Capital Connections program aims to create sustainable small business ecosystems in which their owners prosper, helping to reduce concentrated poverty, close the racial wealth gap, and revitalize communities,” said ICIC CEO Steve Grossman. “We are excited to announce our new partnership with Pizza Hut Canada on the Equal Slice Program that is extending the reach of our impactful executive educational programming beyond the U.S. and for the first time delivering ICCC resources to underrepresented small business owners across Canada.”
Entrepreneurs accepted into the Equal Slice Program will participate in 40 hours of high-impact virtual learning that is divided into four components designed to maximize each participant’s experience and accommodate their busy schedules. The ICCC Canada cohort opens with two half-day seminars on the afternoons of September 21st and 23rd. Throughout the program, participants engage in webinars, digital learning sessions, and one-on-one business coaching appointments that tackle immediate challenges facing each individual business owner. The program culminates with a virtual national conference that focuses on building strategies of resilience and connecting participants with capital providers.
The application deadline for the ICCC 2021 Canada cohort is Friday, September 3rd. Visit ICIC’s website for additional detail about the Equal Slice Program and ICCC including eligibility criteria and applications: https://icic.org/urban-business-initiatives/inner-city-capital-connections/canada.
About Pizza Hut Canada
Pizza Hut is proud to be one of Canada's largest pizza restaurant chains with over 500 locations locally. Globally Pizza Hut is the world's largest pizza restaurant company with more than 18,000 restaurants in over 100 countries. No matter where you find a Pizza Hut, they are making sure each meal customers enjoy is safe, delicious, and unmistakably Pizza Hut.
Pizza Hut, Inc. is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM). Hungry for more information? Check out www.pizzahut.ca, www.facebook.com/PizzaHutCanada, www.twitter.com/pizzahutcanada and/or www.instagram.com/pizzahutcanada.
About ICIC
The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) was founded by renowned Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter in 1994 as a research and strategy organization that today is widely recognized as the preeminent authority on urban economic growth. ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.
Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) is a tuition-free executive leadership training program designed by ICIC to help business owners in under-resourced communities build capacity for sustainable growth in revenue, profitability, and employment. ICCC is uniquely designed to provide three critical elements for sustainable growth: Capacity-building education, one-on-one coaching, and connections to capital and capital providers.
To learn more, visit icic.org.
