In celebration of Women’s History Month, Mastercard and the Fearless Fund are working to support and increase Black women’s-owned companies through the Strivers Initiative. Based on Cheryl Guerin, Mastercard’s North American EVP of marketing and communication, this proposal strives to offer one of the most vulnerable groups of business owners an opportunity to continue on the path of entrepreneurship.
“We launched the Strivers Initiative, and this focuses on both elevating the visibility of Black women business owners that overcoming these obstacles and it encourages those to share what’s going on, to shop their businesses, and certainly support them like we are,” Guerin says.
The Strivers Initiative Mastercard and the Fearless Fund—an organization that invests in women's-colored businesses—will host a grant program that not only offers monetary assistance but also helps raise digital awareness.
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, 41% of Black companies have been forced to close, at least temporarily, between February and April 2020 after the start of the pandemic.
"Women only receive about three percent of all VC funding, and when you look at Black women entrepreneurs, it's a fraction. It's like 2.27 percent of all VC funding, so we partnered with the Fearless Fund to ensure we get money into the hands of these businesses," Guerin said.
Guerin notes that this initiative is part of Mastercard’s long-term goal of helping at least 50 million small- or medium-sized businesses.
A part of the campaign, the award-winning singer and actress Jennifer Hudson was invited to come on board to perform Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Ain't No Mountain High Enough, which Guerin said: "It's an absolute anthem for what these [women] are going through and what they're going through."
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