Visa Partners with Black Girl Ventures to Digitally Enable Black and Women-Owned Small Businesses across the United States
March 04 2021 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Visa commits $1,000,000 in hyperlocal grants
and mentorship, plus access to partners, products and marketing to
help drive growth to minority-owned small businesses in Atlanta,
Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C.
As Black History Month (February) leads into Women’s History
Month (March), Visa (NYSE:V) today announced a new locally-focused
program to help digitally enable Black-owned small businesses, with
an emphasis on those owned by Black women. Addressing the needs of
local entrepreneurs in cities with the highest concentration of
Black-owned businesses in the U.S.1 – Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit,
Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C.—the programming will
consist of grants and mentorship, new educational and technology
resources plus direct community relationships in partnership with
Black Girl Ventures.
“The pandemic has impacted all small businesses – but those run
by women and people of color have been disproportionately
affected,” said Kimberly Lawrence, head of U.S., Visa. “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.”
Black-owned businesses play a critical role in communities
across the country, with more than a third headed by women – the
highest share of any racial or ethnic group. According to Visa’s
Black Women-Owned Business Report2, nearly three quarters (71%) of
Black-women owned businesses surveyed across the U.S. estimate they
cannot survive another year under current pandemic conditions.
Building on the support Visa provides women-owned small businesses
through its She’s Next program, this new effort brings resources
and expertise to provide entrepreneurs with tailored solutions for
each city. Specifics of the program include:
- The Visa She’s Next Grant Program: Visa is committing an
additional $1 million to extend its grant contest and mentorship
program to Black women entrepreneurs in six U.S. cities, with grant
applications opening today, ahead of International Women’s Day on
March 8.
- Mainstream Marketing and Awareness: Through a
multi-million dollar marketing campaign, Visa will encourage
consumers to support Black and women entrepreneurs, in an effort to
help drive business to small businesses. The six-city social,
digital, OOH, mass transit and radio campaigns will run throughout
2021.
- Local Experts and Resources: Through a new partnership
with Black Girl Ventures, Visa will work with local organizations
and influencers to reach small businesses, identify their most
pressing technological needs and provide them with access to the
products and education they need to help them thrive.
“Black Girl Ventures is proud to partner with Visa to assist
these entrepreneurs and provide a megaphone to each community’s
most pressing needs,” said Shelly Bell, founder, Black Girl
Ventures. “While the Black Lives Matter movement elevated consumer
support of these businesses, the movement must continue to lift up
these neighborhoods financially and spiritually.”
In addition to the work with Black Girl Ventures, Visa will host
the first of a series of events on March 25 to celebrate the Black
community and women entrepreneurs. Hosted in partnership with The
Female Quotient, a female-owned business committed to advancing
equality, the virtual event, She’s Next 2021, will feature
inspiring women and men who will discuss their personal experiences
and the necessary work ahead to help champion, educate and inspire
the Black community and women business owners. All interested small
business owners can register here.
“Working to support and build up Miami’s minority
entrepreneurial communities is top of my agenda for 2021,” said
Francis Xavier Suarez, Mayor of Miami. “Visa and Black Girl
Ventures are the perfect partners to help uplift these women and
their businesses to bring back the best of what ‘main street’ has
to offer.”
In 2020, Visa committed to digitally-enabling 50 million small
businesses through partner offers, street team visits, virtual
education seminars and mentorship opportunities. To further support
the Black community and women entrepreneurs, Visa launched targeted
programs ranging from the Visa Black Scholars and Jobs Program, in
partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, to new
partnerships with CapWay, First Boulevard, OneUnited Bank and Urban
One to provide financial and business services that cater to the
needs of the Black community. In addition, the Visa Foundation
committed $200 million over five years to support small and micro
businesses around the world, with a focus on fostering women’s
economic advancement.
“Visa has elevated its longstanding commitment of
underrepresented communities through an increased focus on
financial and social capital and will provide updates on these
local programs throughout the year,” continued Kimberly Lawrence,
head of U.S., Visa.
For more information on Visa’s She’s Next initiative, visit
Visa.com/ShesNext.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments.
Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative,
reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals,
businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing
network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the
world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction
messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is
a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device,
for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to
digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and
scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information,
visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.
About the Visa Foundation
The Visa Foundation seeks to support inclusive economies where
individuals, businesses and communities can thrive. Through
grantmaking and investing, the Foundation prioritizes the
resilience and growth of micro and small businesses that benefit
women. The Foundation also supports broader community needs and
disaster response in times of crisis. The Visa Foundation is
registered in the U.S. as a 501(c)3 entity.
1 NY Fed Report 2 Visa Black Women-Owned Business Report –
February 2021
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Visa Sheerin Salimi shesalim@visa.com
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