Supporting Women and POC-Owned Businesses

“Supporting another’s success won’t ever dampen yours.”

Support the entities that make our community stronger and promote equality – women and POC-owned businesses. With only 38.2% of businesses owned by women and minorities, it is imperative to recognize the obstacles these businesses face and the importance of supporting them.

The Issue: Lack of funding

Women and POC-owned businesses are less likely to receive venture capital funding compared to their counterparts. According to a study by Crunchbase, the percentage of venture capital funding received by women business owners fell from 2.8% to 2.3% in 2019. Additionally, African American and Latinx business owners received a mere 2.6% of venture capital funding in 2020. If VC funding is not an option, how do these businesses flourish?

Women and POC-owned businesses rely mostly on consumers to keep their doors open. Because most VC funding is provided to Caucasian men, shopping with these businesses not only keeps them up and running but provides jobs for women and BIPOC.

Why not? It’s beneficial

Shopping at women and POC-owned businesses offers the chance to find goods you cannot find elsewhere. From homemade soaps to jewelry to baked goods, the treasures you can find at women and POC-owned businesses are inimitable.

Not to mention, when you shop local at women and POC-owned businesses a mutually beneficial relationship is formed. Studies have shown that women re-invest 90% of their income back into their local community and families. Each sale made not only helps the business grow but ensures money is reinvested back into your local community.

Celebrities Furthering the Initiative

Serena Williams has left her mark on and off the tennis court. She created an early-stage venture capital fund, Serena Ventures, and has provided funding for women and POC-owned businesses in their early stages. Serena Ventures has funded more than 50 companies in a multitude of different industries.
Rihanna and H.E.R, two widely known celebrities, provided funding for Partake Foods. Partake Foods is a vegan cookie company owned by Denise Woodard. According to Forbes, “Woodard is the first woman of color to raise $1 million for a food startup, and her business is scaling quickly.”
Designer, Tory Burch, created a foundation that helps female entrepreneurs succeed. Since Burch created the Tory Burch Foundation, she has granted around 25 million dollars to women-owned startups.

Support Those Who Support NEW

At NEW Summit 2021, we were gifted prizes from women and POC-owned businesses. If you are looking to give back to women or POC-owned businesses, look no further.

https://thegreengarmento.com/
https://www.anaono.com/
https://www.tastyclean.com/
https://partakefoods.com/
https://branchbasics.com/