The Center for Economic Inclusion announced Thursday that it has won a $5 million grant from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to launch an accelerator focused on businesses owned by Black and Latina women.
Project Vanguard will work with business owners, corporations and governments to certify 25 new businesses within the next three years. The effort will be led by Black business owners who have experience in business development, growth and scale.
The accelerator plans to offer specialized training, certification, deal-making support, workforce development and capital that doesn't currently exist in the market.
“Entrepreneurship has fueled the vibrancy of Black and Latino families from Black Wall Street to Selby Avenue for generations, yet wealth extraction and poor investment vehicles have hindered growth, restricting economic prosperity in regions like Minneapolis-St. Paul,” said Tawanna Black, founder and CEO at the Center for Economic Inclusion, in a statement. “When we invest in women, we invest in transforming communities and economies.”
Part of the award will also go towards starting the Vanguard Fund, a $25 million fund at the St. Paul-based Center for Economic Inclusion that will offer equity investments, revenue based financing and forgivable loans.
The three-year philanthropic commitment from JPMorgan Chase is part of the New York City-based investment bank's annual AdvancingCities Challenge, which distributes $30 million across six U.S. cities.
