Visa has introduced a new locally-focused initiative to help digitally enable Black-owned small businesses, with a focus on companies owned by Black women, as Black History Month (February) transitions into Women’s History Month (March), according to a Thursday (March 4) press release.
The programming will be comprised of grants, mentorships, new learning resources and new technology resources, in addition to direct community relationships through a partnership with Black Girl Ventures. The initiative aims to address the needs of local entrepreneurs in cities with the highest concentration of Black-owned businesses in the country, including Washington, D.C., Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and Atlanta.
“Black Girl Ventures is proud to partner with Visa to assist these entrepreneurs and provide a megaphone to each community’s most pressing needs,” Black Girl Ventures Founder Shelly Bell said in the press release. “While the Black Lives Matter movement elevated consumer support of these businesses, the movement must continue to lift up these neighborhoods financially and spiritually.”
As part of the program, Visa is committing an additional $1 million to offer its grant contest and mentorship program to Black women entrepreneurs in six American cities. Grant applications are opening Thursday (March 4) before International Women’s Day on Monday (March 8). Visa will also encourage consumers to support Black and women entrepreneurs via a multi-million-dollar marketing campaign.
“The pandemic has impacted all small businesses – but those run by women and people of color have been disproportionately affected,” Kimberly Lawrence, head of U.S., Visa, said in the press release. “With this hyperlocal focus on some of the hardest-hit cities, Visa aims to make a meaningful difference, quickly, for the communities and their business owners who need it most.”
The news comes as The Visa Foundation has rolled out multiple programs aimed at providing almost $5 million in capital to minority-owned small and micro-businesses to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic.
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