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Black Startups Receive Less Than 2 Percent of Venture Capital But Collab Capital and Others Are Working to Change That: ‘Decrease the Racial Wealth Gap’

On Nov. 4, Finurah will present its inaugural one-day virtual wealth summit. We will bring together thought leaders, proven experts, and the community for lively discussions on creating generational wealth, financing and more. Get access to the Finurah Wealth Summit 2021 here and click “Going”.

In today’s financial climate, Black startups continue to find it challenging to attract major investment and funding. In fact, Black startup entrepreneurs still receive just 1.2 percent of the record $147 billion in venture capital invested in U.S. startups through the first half of 2021, found Crunchbase.

African-American man in office with creative colleagues. (Stock photo/Getty)

There is, however, an increasing number of African-American focused groups that are working to fund Black businesses.

Each week, Finurah will present a roundup of funding opportunities for Black entrepreneurs.

Backstage Capital Grants for Founders

Backstage Capital is a venture capital fund founded by celebrated founder and investor Arlan Hamilton. Hamilton, who is African-American, built venture capital fund Backstage Capital from the ground up, while homeless. 

Hamilton is now one of the few Black venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, and she gives grants to underfunded Black startup founders. Founders have to be woman-identified or African-American to apply for funding, and applications are accepted year-round. Startup founders can apply for investment on Backstage Capital’s website.

Collab Capital

Collab Capital funds Black startups to help them grow and scale their businesses. Founded by three experienced Black founders, operators and investors, the mission of the fund “is to decrease the racial wealth gap.”

The three principal founders are: tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Jewel Melanie Burks Solomon, who is the first head of Google for Startups in the U.S.; Barry Givens, managing director of Cox Enterprises Social Impact Accelerator Powered by Techstars; and capital entrepreneur Justin Dawkins, co-founder of social tech company Goodie Nation.

Burks is one of the featured speakers in the upcoming Finurah Wealth Summit 2021.

To read more about how to access funding from Collab Capital and other opportunities, read more on Finurah.

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