Dr Rashae Barnes, the founder and CEO of Evals Equity Women’s Fund, has announced that September 30 will mark the first-ever National Black Funding Day.
The national holiday was registered through National Day Archives. It aims to recognize and honor the accomplishments of Black entrepreneurs in the funding industry, while highlighting the disparities in venture capital grants, and educational resources for underserved communities.
Funding for Black founders
Black founders have long faced challenges in securing funding for their businesses, and the current economic climate hasn’t helped.
Following George Floyd’s murder, funding for Black-led startups nearly tripled from 2020 to 2021. However, that funding is already nearly back down to pre-2020 levels. Last year, VC funding dropped by 36% overall but fell by 45% for Black founders.
Moreover, Black founders have faced a 75.2% drop in Q1 funding when compared to last year. According to TechCrunch’s analysis of new Crunchbase data, Black founders received just 0.69% ($312 million) of total funding in Q1 2023, compared with 1.5% (or $1.36 billion) in Q1 2022.
Image Credit: Barnes Media Group Public Relations
Educate, invest, celebrate
“We need to educate the masses on the disparities in funding across the board and provide resources to help underserved communities secure funding for their businesses,” Dr Barnes in a press release. “We also need to celebrate the strides made thus far for Black founders across the country.”
Read: BK-XL, The Largest BIPOC Accelerator, Announces Inaugural Cohort Of Founders
Dr Barnes encourages large corporations and businesses to invest in Black founders and their organizations while celebrating the strides Black entrepreneurs have made thus far.
The day will also serve as an opportunity to host educational events, fundraising efforts, and celebrations of Black entrepreneurship and innovation.
National Black Funding Day will be observed on September 30th each year.
