How Black entrepreneurs are building generational wealth.

INVESTING IN BLACK BUSINESSES
“Our North Star is helping more Black founders access the capital and resources they need to make it to the next stage and start and build and scale successful businesses. When thinking about where is the biggest gap for folks who are trying to build businesses, and particularly Black founders, we felt that it was at that earlier stage, what is traditionally known as the ‘friends and family round’ where people may not even have a product or have generated revenue. It’s those people in their networks that believe in them, that give them the capital and the ability to go and chase after that dream.”
—Stella Ashaolu | Co-Founder, Fifth Star Funds

White-led businesses have access to 37 times more startup financing than Black founders, according to a Stanford report [link removed] To help fuel investment in the Black business community, Fifth Star Funds, a group of Chicago entrepreneurs and industry leaders, is providing access to funding and support services to Black founders. In an audio interview with Tides, Stella Ashaolu, co-founder of Tides partner Fifth Star Funds [link removed], talks about why she helped launch a venture capital firm specifically for Black-owned tech companies, and why it’s focused on critical early stage funding that can help establish generations of Black wealth. And we hear from Dameon Mason, founder of Crtside
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STORIES FROM THE FIELD

U.S.-based Companies Invested $66B to Address Racism in 2020: What Happens Next?
How can corporations establish a more equitable social and corporate sector? “We think about the fact that we have 400 years of lost opportunity as the result of the vestiges of slavery, of segregation, of institutionalized racism. Strictly focusing on wealth is simply not enough,” said Gabrielle Wyatt, founder and CEO of The Highland Project.
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The Digital Divide is Getting Worse
Nearly half of Americans without home internet are either Black or Hispanic, 43 percent of adults with lower incomes do not have access to home broadband, and 41 percent don’t have access to a desktop or laptop. How can companies make a dent in the gaping digital divide?
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What’s Measured Is What Gets Done In Social Impact
Data can be a powerful lever for change. And in the social impact realm, the right approach to data collection and evaluation practices can be transformative in advancing equity.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

// “This Is Our Health. This Is Our Life.” Women of Color Climate Justice Leaders Speak Their Truth
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// Pursuing Justice on All Fronts: Stories of Hope and Inspiration in 2021
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// Five Facts to Know About Black Philanthropy
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