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A venture capital firm founder has launched a lawsuit against PayPal, alleging that the company’s diversity and equity program excluded her because she is Asian. Nisha Desai, the founder of Andav Capital, claims she applied for consideration in a $530 million financial commitment PayPal announced in 2020 to support Black- and minority-owned businesses , TechCrunch reported. However, she asserts that she was overlooked due to her Asian heritage, as the program primarily focused on supporting Black- and Hispanic-led enterprises. “Funds majority-owned by individuals of other races, including Asian Americans, are not given equal consideration,” Desai stated in the New York lawsuit, per the outlet. “Worse, PayPal and its senior management have repeatedly trumpeted the program’s focus on race, bragging in statements and press releases that PayPal’s program is for some races and ethnicities and not others.” Desai claims that PayPal has violated Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866,...
Hello Alice is continuing its commitment to serving underserved entrepreneurs. In partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), Hello Alice has officially launched the next round of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s (BGE) Energizing Small Business grant program. The initiative offers $20,000 grants to central Maryland businesses to help them succeed and thrive, according to the Hello Alice website. No stranger to empowering local small businesses, the BGE Energizing Small Business grant deployed more than $2.5 million in grants to 129 small businesses in central Maryland in 2023. “When small businesses thrive, they become powerful economic engines, creating even more opportunities in their communities and we are so pleased to celebrate today’s grant recipients,” said BGE President and CEO Carim Khouzami in the 2023 grant announcement. “Since 2019, BGE has granted over $13 million to small businesses throughout Central Maryland. This is in addition to other small...
Stormi Steele has seen firsthand the power of social media. Steele is the founder of Canvas Beauty, a beauty brand she conceived in a night, Forbes mentioned. It all started with a hair serum made with cayenne pepper in her kitchen, which she introduced to her clients at her hair salon. After her clients’ rave reviews, she was encouraged to sell the product. Now, Steele’s Hair Blossom Serum remains the leading product in its marketing sector, the outlet notes. “It just ended up having a life of its own after that,” Steele told Forbes. Steele found great success since the launch of her business in 2018. In its first year, Canvas Beauty sold more than 1 million units, according to information provided to AFROTECH™. In 2019, going viral led the business to earn 30,000 monthly orders compared to 6,000 before the exposure, per Forbes. However, the influx of orders prompted Steele and her husband and business partner, Courtney Beasley, to learn a quick lesson about running an online...
Rick Ross is auctioning off items for a good cause. According to Billboard, the rapper is teaming up with Julien’s Auctions to host Push It to the Limit: Luxury and Lifestyle, a two-day event held June 25-26 live and online with 800 items up for grabs. People mentions items such as Ross’ exclusive collection of street and contemporary art, designer wear, rare sneakers, and music memorabilia like Michael Jackson’s sealed “ONE” by Cirque du Soleil light-up glove , and more. Specific items include the Air Jordan Retro 5 “University of Michigan Fab 5” PEs (estimated value, $2,000-$3,000); Air Maxes (est. $1,000-$2,000); DJ Khaled “Father of Asahd” Air Jordans (est. $3,000-$5,000) and Virgil Abloh Off-White collaborations (est. $500-$700); Versace silk shirts (est. $500-$700); and designer sunglasses and varsity jackets (est. $200-$500); among others, per Billboard. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Julien's Auctions (@juliens_auctions) What’s more, in partnership with The...
This Black-owned cream liqueur brand with a national presence has announced a whole new brand identity! According to a press release, LS Cream Liqueur — inspired by the iconic, traditional Haitian drink known as “cremas” — is on track to quintuple its revenue from last year. The brand’s overall mission is to place the founder’s authentic family recipe in the hands of the modern drinker. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LS Cream Premium Liqueur (@lscreamliqueur) They’re also looking to transform the way that people enjoy cream liqueurs outside of just the holiday season. “LS was first inspired by my grandmother’s cremas recipe that we’ve enjoyed at our family celebrations for decades,” said co-founder Stevens Charles in an official press release. “We managed to capture the taste of cremas and put it in the form of a traditional cream liqueur to make it more versatile for cocktails and easy sipping since the homemade version is usually a thicker recipe. We’re excited to...
Having adequate resources is vital to the success of Black-owned businesses across the nation, and ChannelAdvisor wants to make sure Black-owned business owners have them. PR Newswire reports that ChannelAdvisor has pledged a commitment of $3 million to M&F Bank, the nation’s second-oldest Black-owned bank located in Durham, NC. According to the company website, the state-chartered commercial bank was organized in 1907 to fulfill a dream that the nine founders had for their community — to build generational wealth and betterment for the people of the residential district in Durham. Today that commitment continues, thanks to the deposit made by ChannelAdvisor, t he leading provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions who share the bank’s commitment to supporting the growth of local minority-owned businesses. “We’re committed to doing our part to support and increase economic opportunity in the communities around us, especially underserved entrepreneurs and business owners ,” said...
Hennessy remains committed to championing Black excellence. The leading cognac brand has officially announced the recipients of its “Never Stop Never Settle Society,” a $1 million program launched in March 2021 to create more business growth and development for Black entrepreneurs. “Hennessy recognizes the tenacity and resilience each selected member embodies as they push the limits of potential to carve their path, address social and economic challenges and make a lasting impact on their community,” said Jasmin Allen , Senior Vice President, Hennessy US in an official press release. “Hennessy has always supported the Black community. We are honored to continue this legacy through the “Never Stop Never Settle Society” by celebrating extraordinary individuals and championing the vision of their businesses.” Co-created with partner, the Marcus Graham Project, Hennessy’s “Never Stop Never Settle Society” is an extension of the brand’s commitment to driving change for the Black...
This time last year, Black Women Photographers (BWP) was busy launching a global community and database to help Black women get paid for their work. One year later, the platform is celebrating its anniversary with a new fund that’s continuing that mission. Over the last year, founder Polly Irungu has been a vocal advocate encouraging companies to invest in and hire Black women photographers for various projects through her ever-growing digital database. The movement she started disrupted industries in a way that finally made the world wake up to this overlooked group of creatives, but now its revolutionary nature is taking it a step further with a $40,000 grant fund — in partnership with NikonUSA — and an additional $10,000 worth of photography gear. According to Irungu, there will also be an additional $1,250 grant opportunity from Flickr who is also partnering with BWP. “One year ago today, we launched this global community and directory. ? ,” the platform announced on its...
Last June, alcohol giant Constellation Brands, Inc. committed to a $100 million investment in Black, Latinx and minority-owned businesses in the spirits industry over the next decade. Now they’re making good on their promise by working with Black-owned wine brand, La Fête du Rosé. According to ESSENCE, the Miami-based rosé label has become one of the many go-to wines for consumers, and with the help of Constellation Brands’ investment the brand will grow to be even bigger. Constellation Brands, Inc. announced that the company would acquire a minority stake in the wine label, making this its first attempt to make good on its June 2020 pledge. “Minority-owned businesses are under-represented in our industry and there is a real need to make it more equitable for those businesses to receive access to capital,” Constellation Brands president and CEO Bill Newlands said in a statement. “This initiative enables us to play a role in creating greater equity within our industry and provides an...
Cheers! Thanks to these two Historically Black College and University (HBCU) grads, you could soon have your cocktail ingredients delivered to your front door, reports Blackbusiness.com. Navarr Grevious and Mikáel Pyles met on campus while attending Clark Atlanta University back in the early 2010s and not only did they become good friends and fraternity brothers, but now they’re business partners and have created the perfect digital platform for the alcohol industry. QuikLiq — operating out of Miami, FL — was designed to make ordering alcohol both easy and convenient and is well on its way to becoming a leading digital platform for wine, beer, and spirit delivery. “QuikLiq is a tech-forward digital marketplace that provides our customers with access to the best selection of wine, beer, and spirits , right from the comfort of their homes,” according to the company’s website. “By partnering with the premier alcohol retailers along Miami Beach and throughout the US, we have set out to...
New research into the racial equity inequality gap shows bad news — and good news. According to research conducted by the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council (MMSDC), it will take 333 years to close the racial equity inequality gap if growth continues at its current rate. “This research makes it crystal clear that the current path is one we cannot continue if we wish to achieve economic equity for people of color in our lifetimes,” said Michelle Sourie Robinson, president, and CEO of the MMSDC, in a statement provided in the research. There were other key discoveries in the research pertaining to the racial equity inequality gap. For example: Minority-business enterprises (MBEs) drove 14.2 percent of new jobs from 2014-2018 but collected only 7.2 percent of revenue growth during that same period. During the pandemic, minority businesses were impacted more severely, with Black-owned businesses do wn 41 percent, Latinx-owned businesses down 32 percent, and Asian-owned...
Alcohol beverage company, Constellation Brands, Inc. has announced they will be investing $10 million into the Clear Vision Impact Fund, an investment fund for minority-owned businesses. According to Global News Wire, this newly-formed investment vehicle was founded by the only U.S. investment bank certified as a women and minority-owned enterprise, Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC. Constellation Brands’ president and CEO, Bill Newlands says the underrepresentation and barriers within the alcoholic beverage industry have existed for far too long. “We remain committed to doing our part to help remove such barriers and we’re proud to partner with Siebert Williams Shank & Co. and other companies that have joined this effort,” he said. “Working together, we can provide greater access to capital and opportunity for minority-owned businesses as well as the employees and communities they support.” The mission of the Clear Vision Impact Fund is to foster inclusive growth for businesses...
Sean “Diddy” Combs and his multimedia company, Combs Enterprises, have announced the second phase of the “Our Fair Share” PPP loan initiative. This time, Combs is teaming up with JPMorgan Chase, The Harbor Bank of Maryland, CDC Small Business Finance, Kabbage, PayPal, and Square to provide capital to those who participate in the program. In a press release announcement, it was confirmed that this program helps hundreds of thousands of minority-owned companies learn about the government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and connects them to approved Small Business Administration (SBA) lenders that can process applications for these potentially business-saving loans. Combs Enterprises’ efforts have, essentially, put Black-owned businesses on an equal playing field to their white counterparts. According to Newsweek, “the PPP loan program in total gave out 5.2 million individual loans amounting to $525 billion, including millions in payouts to churches and other organizations that pay...
More and more companies are putting their heads together to find effective ways to fully support minority founders and entrepreneurs amid the widespread protests of systemic racism across all industries. Investment firm Siebert Williams Shank and software giant Microsoft have decided to partner to launch the Clear Vision Impact Fund L.L.C. for small businesses, with an initial $25 million seed investment from the latter, Forbes reports . “This is just the first step to building a more diverse and equitable playing field and we look forward to the opportunities that this investment will help create,” Microsoft CIO Tahreem Kampton said in a press release announcing the fund’s launch. The newly-launched joint fund has a target size of $250 million total, according to Black Enterprise , and aims to invest both growth and operating capital in small and medium-sized businesses, with a focus on minority-owned businesses to emphasize social impact. “We are extremely pleased to have...
Democratic senators have up the ante on COVID-19 relief support for businesses owned by people of color. Recently Capitol Hill representatives introduced new legislation aimed at investing in Black-owned businesses. According to the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) proposed the Minority Business Resiliency Act, a multi-step bill centered around the improvement of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). The bill involves officially making the agency permanent, expanding its grant-making authority, introducing new regional offices, and broadening its networking reach with fellow federal agencies. Currently, the MBDA supports businesses owned by people of color in all industries;...