Photo by lucas da miranda from Pexels
With 22 days left into 2020, Black Girl Ventures takes a moment to pause and reflect on the whirlwind of a year it has been. As many businesses were wondering if they were going to keep their doors open during the pandemic, BGV was also in similar circumstances––wondering if funds were going to dry up. With Shelly Bell at the helm and the rest of the BGV staff, giving up wasn't an option. The mission had to continue even more so, with so many Black and Brown founders disproportionately impacted by COVID. Like other businesses, BGV also had to pivot.
Through this pivot, through the Black Lives Matter movement's climate and the outpour of support from allies alike, not only did BGV sustain, it surpassed its goals like never before. Black Girl Ventures has funded over 100+ founders despite the limited resources and reached over one million people in just four years. This is a representation of humanity, of people coming together for the greater good. And despite the chaos and the challenges, hope, faith, generosity, and kindness still reign.
BGV TEA
BGV is celebrating and highlighting all our wins. We're taking it way back when Shelly Bell hosted 30 women in a house in Southeast Washington DC. These women pitched their businesses over brunch, and this created a national movement. So, for now, we rest in gratitude, but in 2021, as Method Man said, "The saga continues."
BGV x Halcyon
Halcyon, Black Girl Ventures, and Bank of America today announced a partnership to launch an eight-month incubation program for ten Black and Brown women-founded business ventures. The two Washington, D.C.-based nonprofits are accepting applications. Applications are being accepted online through Jan. 7, 2021, and the program is open to entrepreneurs from across the country.
Financial Empowerment
Let's face it; there's a severe gap between Black and Brown people and their White counterparts concerning financial literacy. BGV hopes to help close that gap with a series of accessible content and resources for the community to educate themselves on personal and business finances. So far, we've talked about how to protect your business and personal credit, why it's dangerous to mix them, how to manage your cash flow, and so much more.
WE BAG
Founded by digitalundivided CEO Kathryn Finney, the fund is named after her grandmother, Kathryn "Doonie" Hale, who inspired her entrepreneurial journey and encouraged her to stay in the arena. Since its inception on Apr. 5, 2020, the fund has invested in over 500 black women entrepreneurs.
Collab Capital is an investment fund leveraging financial, human, and social capital to help founders build sustainable, technology-enabled businesses. They create growth opportunities for Black founders with early-stage startups by providing investment capital and connecting them to corporate and social influencers. Their investment programs guide portfolio companies to increased revenue and profitability instead of continuously raising valuations through modern venture capital funding.
The Do You Fund makes micro-investments in Black and Latinx women entrepreneurs.
Subscribe to the Digital Orange Juice for juicy ideas and the people who fund them. You can find out about our next pitch competitions here. Don't forget to check out the SheRaise platform for more pitch events.