Monumental

What Monumental does

Monumental is a Toronto-headquartered social purpose consultancy founded in 2017 by Kofi Hope and Zahra Ebrahim. The firm delivers professional services across four practice areas — Engagement & Co-Design, Strategy, Policy & Research, Retreats & Capacity Building, and Innovative & Bold Initiatives — to government agencies, private developers, and non-profits working on equitable urban development. Service delivery relies on a small core team of approximately eight professionals in Toronto, supplemented by an extensive network of project-specific collaborators and subject matter experts, with no disclosed technology platform or proprietary software stack.

The business model is project-based professional services: revenue is generated through consulting engagements, retreats, and policy or research projects rather than recurring software or product revenue. Pricing is quote-driven and not publicly disclosed. Customer acquisition runs primarily through founder-led thought leadership (250+ public talks, a monthly Toronto Star column, TEDx appearances), referrals from an extensive board-level network across Canadian civic institutions, and direct outreach to government and enterprise buyers.

The firm also operates internal initiatives outside its core consulting practice: FutureBUILDS (a BIPOC real estate talent pipeline co-developed with the Infrastructure Institute), Making Space (an equitable urban development project), and All Out (an arts-based city-building collective). The explicit mission is to advance equitable city-building while prioritizing the development and success of BIPOC leaders, and the firm holds founder-led positions as Urbanists-in-Residence at the University of Toronto School of Cities.

Name

Monumental

Legal name

Monumental

Website

https://monumentalprojects.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Monumental is a Toronto-based social purpose consultancy founded in 2017 that delivers equitable city-building services — engagement, strategy, policy, and capacity building — to governments, private developers, and non-profits, supplemented by internal programs such as FutureBUILDS, Making Space, and All Out.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Development Consulting

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO)

Keywords

• Urban development consulting
• Community engagement services
• Equitable city-building
• Strategy and policy advisory
• Capacity building retreats

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Consulting Services: Monumental generates revenue through providing professional consulting services to government agencies, private companies, and non-profit organizations. Services include engagement and co-design, strategy and policy development, retreats and capacity building, and innovative initiative development. Revenue appears to be project-based consulting engagements rather than recurring software or product revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Monumental is a Toronto-based social purpose consultancy providing professional services to governments, private companies, and non-profits focused on equitable city-building and urban development. Core offerings include Engagement & Co-Design, Strategy/Policy/Research, Retreats & Capacity Building, and Innovative & Bold Initiatives. The firm pairs a small core staff with a project-specific network of collaborators and subject matter experts to deliver human-centered, community-led consulting engagements.

Product overview

Monumental is a social purpose consultancy offering a unified suite of professional services centered on equitable city-building and urban development. The core offerings include Engagement & Co-Design, Strategy Policy & Research, Retreats & Capacity Building, and Innovative & Bold Initiatives. These services are complemented by branded programs/initiatives including FutureBUILDS (BIPOC career development in real estate), Making Space, and All Out (art-focused community engagement). The firm operates as a partnership model, working with governments, private companies, and non-profits to create thoughtful solutions to complex urban issues with community voice at the center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FutureBUILDS: A real estate development initiative seeking to support early- and mid-career Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) professionals in the urban development and city-building industry.
• Making Space
• All Out

Products and services

• Engagement & Co-Design

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FutureBUILDS (Infrastructure Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFutureBUILDS is Monumental's real estate development initiative seeking to support early- and mid-career Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) in the real estate development industry. It is a collaborative initiative with the Infrastructure Institute, providing mentorship and pathways into the industry for underrepresented professionals.
• University of Toronto's School of CitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoth co-founders serve as Urbanists-in-Residence at the University of Toronto's School of Cities, creating ongoing academic partnership for research, teaching, and knowledge sharing in urban development.
• Toronto Arts CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZahra Ebrahim serves as Board member, creating connection between city-building and arts communities.
• Canadian Urban InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZahra Ebrahim serves as Board member, linking Monumental to broader urban policy networks.
• Park PeopleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZahra Ebrahim serves as Board Chair, connecting Monumental to community park and public space initiatives.
• Munk School of Global Affairs and Public PolicyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKofi Hope is a Senior Fellow, creating academic linkage for policy research and urban affairs.
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKofi Hope serves as Board member, representing community voice in healthcare planning.
• Toronto Indigenous Business AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrina Moyan is a member, supporting Indigenous engagement in business and economic development.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global infrastructure consultancy with urban planning, economics, and community engagement practices serving public agencies and developers — represents the large-incumbent competitor Monumental would face when scaling beyond its niche.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture and urban design firm where Monumental's Design and Placemaking Lead previously worked; offers community engagement, urban design, and master planning as part of a broader portfolio, providing a benchmark for senior talent and methodology overlap.
• Arup: Global engineering and design consultancy with urban planning, policy advisory, and community engagement practices serving municipalities and developers — a comparable multi-disciplinary advisor at the policy/strategy/placemaking intersection.
• Doblin (Deloitte): Deloitte's human-centered design practice previously built and led by Monumental co-founder Zahra Ebrahim; offers similar human-centered, policy and service design consulting to government and enterprise clients as part of a much larger firm.

Direct peers

• Urban Strategies Inc. Canadian urban planning and placemaking consultancy serving municipalities, developers, and public agencies on city-building, master planning, and community engagement — directly comparable in scale, geography, and service mix to Monumental's Strategy/Policy and Engagement practices.
• HR&A Advisors: US-based real estate and economic development advisory firm providing strategy, planning, and policy consulting to public agencies and private developers — comparable as a specialized advisory firm working at the intersection of equitable development, public-sector clients, and urban strategy.
• DIALOG: Canadian interdisciplinary design practice with integrated urban planning, architecture, and community engagement teams serving public and private clients on city-building projects — directly comparable in Canadian geography, design-led methodology, and equity/community-centered work.

Emerging players

• PROCESS (urban planning studio): Toronto-based urban and cultural planning studio previously co-founded by Monumental Principal Sara Udow — a direct lineage peer with similar scale, geography, and community-centered urban planning practice.
• Sidewalk Labs (urban advisory practice): Urban innovation advisory practice focused on equitable, technology-enabled city-building and master planning — comparable in mission orientation toward inclusive urban development but with a different technology-led lens.

Others

• Canadian Urban Institute: Canadian non-profit research and policy organization focused on urban issues where Monumental co-founder Zahra Ebrahim serves on the board; thematically aligned ecosystem partner with overlapping advisory/research mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/monumentalprojects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Monumental