Peep This List Of Financial Resources For Black Business Owners And Entrepreneurs

Black-owned businesses have been thriving this year. Whether it’s retail, hair and beauty, food, or liquor, there are more Black entrepreneurs than ever, and many are creating successful businessmen and women.

Despite the news, many Black entrepreneurs struggle to find seed money, bank loans, expansion funds, credit, and more. According to Forbes, 46% of Black business owners say they’ve faced issues accessing capital, and other challenges, 39% do not feel adequately informed about how to apply for money, 38% don’t have a relationship with a lender or bank, and 21% don’t know where to apply for capital.

For Black Business Month, BLACK ENTERPRISE has compiled a list of financial resources for Black entrepreneurs.

Loans And Grants

Founders First CDC

Founders First CDC is the largest national platform for growing businesses led by diverse founders. Since 2015, the nonprofit has provided funding, training, and mentorship opportunities for companies run by women, people of color, military veterans, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and entrepreneurs in urban communities.

Earlier this year, Founders First awarded $25,000 to women-run businesses to celebrate Mother’s Day. Last year, it committed $300,000 to help Black, female, and veteran entrepreneurs of color in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Chicago, and Texas through its Job Creators Quest Grant program. Founders First also offers scholarships to its business accelerator program, including leadership coaching and continuous business education.

Lendistry

Since 2014, Lendistry, a minority-led Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), has provided more than $9 billion in economic opportunities and progressive growth for more than 600,000 small businesses and their underserved communities. Lendistry provides business loans, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, special grants, and programs for entrepreneurs in California, Colorado, and New York.

Lendistry works with its nonprofit organization, The Center by Lendistry, to connect its small business customers with technical assistance, business courses, business advisers, and access to other programs and services. The organization also features testimonials from entrepreneurs who have applied for and received funds.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lendistry gave out over $200 million in pandemic recovery grants for small and micro businesses in New York.

Other grant programs for Black entrepreneurs include the Power Forward Small Business Grant, which offers $25,000 to Black-owned businesses in New England, and the Beyond Open Grant for minorities, women, veterans, LBGTQ+, and people with disabilities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Businesses Accelerator Programs

For those who already have their business off the ground, you may be looking for an accelerator program to take your business to the next level. Here are a few business accelerator programs to help.

Amazon

If you’re an entrepreneur in the retail industry, the Amazon Black Business Accelerator Program is dedicated to helping build sustainable growth for Black-owned businesses by explicitly targeting barriers to access, opportunity, and advancement.

Amazon’s Business Accelerator provides financial assistance, including business education and coaching and marketing and advertising support for Black entrepreneurs.

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs has two business programs, including one specifically for Black women.

The first is the 10,000 Small Businesses program which provides business education covering the key elements for growing a business through a network of community colleges across the U.S. The program also works with CDFIs and other lenders to provide capital for small businesses. The 10,000 small business program also puts its new entrepreneurs in touch with those who have made it through the program for one-on-one advising and networking opportunities.

Goldman’s One Million Black Women program expands on the 10,000 Small Business Program to teach Black female entrepreneurs to understand their finances better, hire employees, price their products and services, and connect aspiring entrepreneurs with a network of successful Black female entrepreneurs.

The program’s next cohort is set for September through November this year. Those interested in the program can fill out a survey and receive emails about future opportunities for the program.

Google For Startups Black Founders Accelerator

The Google for Startups Black Founders Accelerator is a 10-week digital accelerator program for  Seed to Series A tech startups based in the U.S. and Canada. The program will accept 10 Black-owned technology startups for the program and provide them with three months of mentoring and training from more than 20 Google teams, technical support, early access to Google tools and products, and much more.

Applications are open, and the winners will be selected later this year. Companies participating in the program include 4Degrees, Beam City DNA, and EDLight.

Other top business accelerator programs include Seed Spot, Tumml, and the Coalition To Back Black Businesses.

Venture Capital Firms

There are a large number of Black investors these days looking for the right company to get in on. Everyone from Black celebrities to those in the finance industry has opened venture capital firms in recent years to help Black entrepreneurs realize their dreams. Here is a list of VCs and investors that can help turn your idea into something special and provide financial help.

Black Angel Tech Fund

The Black Angel Tech Fund is a VC firm founded by Black entrepreneurs and investors focusing on seed funding for early-stage technology companies. Black Angel’s investments include On Second Thought, a patented mobile delay/recall technology allowing users to take back transactions before they get to the other person, and Ceek VR, a next-generation Virtual Reality platform.

Those interested can email them or register on the fund’s homepage to get updates and information.

Harlem Capital Partners

The New York-based firm Harlem Capital Partners focuses on early-stage minority startups. The firm aims to create generational wealth for women and people of color. Forty-three percent of the companies Harlem Capital has invested in are women-owned, and 61% are Black- or Latino-owned.

Black news sites Blavity, Fixt and Chatdesk are among Harlem Capital’s 51-investment portfolio. Those interested can fill out Harlem Capital’s investment form to pitch your idea.

Serena Ventures

Retired tennis legend Serena Williams is using her second act to help people of color and women in different industries. Serena Ventures, which Williams started in 2014, invests in entrepreneurs who aim to solve everyday problems through unorthodox thinking. Serena Ventures has managed a portfolio of more than 60 angel investments using Williams’ own money.

Last year, Serena Ventures raised $111 million in a funding round, and its portfolio includes Juno Healthcare, Lolli, Nestcoin, and Infinite Objects. Entrepreneurs interested in Serena ventures can fill out its pitch form.

Other VC firms that support Black and female entrepreneurs include Digitalundivided, Impact America Fund, Cross Culture Ventures, and The Fearless Fund.

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