Women and minority-owned businesses are often underrepresented and underfunded in the United States. But thanks to some partnership and supplier diversity initiatives taken on by larger corporations, this doesn’t have to always be the case.
One of the leading financial institutions in the country, Bank of America, has announced its commitment of more than $500 million in equity investments specifically for minority- and women-led funds, more than double its initial commitment of $200 million.
“We work across our company to address critical needs in our communities, including the lack of access to capital that diverse business owners face as they start or grow their businesses,” said Tram Nguyen, global head of strategic and sustainable investments at Bank of America. “Each time we support a minority- or women-led fund, they in turn support diverse entrepreneurs, which ultimately helps us toward achieving our goal to advance racial equality and economic opportunity.”
Currently, 62% of the promised capital is going to women-led funds. Sixty-six percent of those leaders identify as Black and/or African American, while another 21% identify as being Hispanic-Latino.
As a graduate of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Nasir Qadree founded Zeal to provide overlooked founders with the resources they need to scale towards their next stage of growth. This includes being an early investor in Esusu—now one of the few Black-owned unicorns—which provides tools to help immigrants and minorities provide rent reporting and data solutions for credit building.
Chingona Ventures, another fund sponsored with Bank of America’s finances and led by General Partner Samara Hernandez, was the only active fund in the Midwest started and led by a Latina at the time of Bank of America’s investment. The fund targets founders with unique backgrounds creating businesses in markets that are often overlooked.
Bank of America additionally continues to innovate and expand the capital and resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners of all backgrounds through their Breakthrough Lab cohort. The six-month program provides tailored mentorship, digital expertise, networking with industry experts and access to potential investors to Black, Hispanic-Latino, Native American and other entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities.
While the cohort is currently full to new applicants, a 2024 cohort is hopeful after the lab’s success in 2021 and 2022.
“The bank’s long-standing commitment to supporting economic opportunity for people and the communities we serve is at the core of Bank of America Breakthrough Lab,” said Rina Arline, Breakthrough Lab program director in global transaction services at Bank of America. “We’re excited to play a role in giving emerging entrepreneurs from a range of backgrounds access to the bank’s vast resources and industry networks.”
Source: Bank of America
