ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Continuing their efforts in bridging the gap for Women of Color businesses to receive Venture Capital funding, Fearless Fund trailblazes the industry with their unwavering dedication to solving the issues Women of Color businesses face while acquiring funding for their businesses. By receiving multi-million dollar follow-on investments from Bank of America, Costco, and Mastercard, Fearless Fund is doing the necessary work to advocate, financially support, and provide resources for Women of Color both in their portfolio and the emerging talent that is still to come.
Fearless Fund, was created with the mission of increasing the number of Women of Color-founded businesses and taking those businesses to new heights. Through the past few years, Fearless Fund has created a space that allows the top Women of Color businesses to thrive in their respective fields. The investments they have received play a tremendous role in the continuation of discovering these businesses as well as providing the opportunity to be educated and their needs be acknowledged.
“To receive follow-on investments from our previous investors proves that Bank of America, Costco, and Mastercard are not only dedicated to addressing the disparity that exists in venture capital funding for women of color-led businesses, but it shows their commitment, values, and understanding that investing in WOC founders is good business,” says Arian Simone, Co-Founder of the Fearless Fund.
“Our mission at Bank of America is to help diverse entrepreneurs drive economic opportunity,” said Tram Nguyen, Global Head of Strategic and Sustainable Investments. “We are proud to continue our partnership with the Fearless Fund: Arian, Ayana, and their team continue to demonstrate true dedication to supporting women of color-led businesses.”
The investments received will allow Fearless Fund to further expand their portfolio of women of color-founded and co-founded companies and provide adequate funding and mentorship opportunities.
In addition to their investment, Mastercard has continued their partnership with Fearless Fund to host the third annual Fearless Strivers Grant Contest awarding Black women small businesses across the country with $20,000 grants, Mastercard Digital Doors tools, and mentorship to help Black women founders get access to the capital and resources they need to achieve their full potential. Mastercard’s investment in Fearless Fund builds on the company’s In Solidarity commitment which is aimed to help close the racial wealth and opportunity gap in Black communities across America.
“Connecting up-and-coming entrepreneurs with capital is a crucial step in the small business journey, and we know that investing in women leaders pays dividends to the communities, families, and economies around them,” said Shamina Singh, Founder, and President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “We’re thrilled to continue to support Fearless Fund and the work they do to lift up women entrepreneurs of color.”
In a similar fashion, Fearless Fund and Costco have joined forces for a second year with a partnership for Fearless’ annual event, Fearless VC Summit 2023 taking place in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, August 18th.
"We are pleased and honored to be a partner at the 2023 Fearless Fund VC Summit. Supporting the development of diverse entrepreneurs is imperative for our communities to continue to thrive, and Costco is glad to be part of this effort. In particular, the Summit offers an outstanding opportunity to bring together investors and entrepreneurs and hopefully ignite sparks that will lead to future success." ~Alison Francis, VP Chief Diversity Officer Costco Wholesale
For more information, please visit www.fearless.fund.
About Fearless Fund
Launched in 2019, Fearless Fund invests in WOC-led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level, or series A financing. Its mission is to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for female founders of color building scalable, growth-aggressive companies. The Fearless Fund team also runs The Fearless Foundation, a 501c3 organization with a goal to educate entrepreneurs through training, reduce racial inequities, and empower African-Americans to gain access to capital, as well as the Get Ready Venture Program, a 12-month training program for WOC business owners to acquire the needed training, mentorship, knowledge, and skills needed to gain access to capital.
