Grameen America Joins BeyGOOD Foundation’s Black Parade Route, Advances New Partnership to Provide Entrepreneurial Women of Color with Affordable First-Time Loan Capital
Grameen America is partnering with global icon Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s BeyGOOD Foundation to offer small business owners and entrepreneurs of color access to affordable capital and business support as part of BeyGOOD’s Black Parade Route Small Business luncheons. Hundreds of women entrepreneurs across the country will have the opportunity to join Grameen America’s program to access microloans, business education, and peer networking.
Grameen America Commits $1M in Microloans to Entrepreneurs of Color Attending BeyGOOD’s Black Parade Route Small Business Luncheons, Along with Access to Credit- and Asset-Building, Business Education, and Peer Networking Opportunities
Grameen America is supporting the Black Parade Route with a commitment of up to $1 million in microloans for women entrepreneurs participating in the luncheons. Participants will be able to apply to the Grameen America program to access first-time loan capital available starting from $500 to $2,500, as well as financial training and peer support with other entrepreneurs along the Black Parade Route. Grameen America is the only microlender providing business support and resources to the Black Parade Route participants.
Global Icon Beyoncé Knowles-Carter Founded BeyGOOD in 2013 to Celebrate People, Communities, and Small Businesses Impacted by Economic Inequalities Worldwide
The BeyGOOD Foundation focuses on economic equity by supporting marginalized and under-resourced programs, committed to serving people through educational scholarships, the advocacy of internships, and access to resources for advancing entrepreneurship and small business sustainability. To date, BeyGOOD has been instrumental in programs that help in the areas of education, health, housing, water scarcity, disaster relief and more. The efforts are global, including South Africa, Haiti, Burundi, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Caribbean and throughout the United States.
Black Parade Route
In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mrs. Carter launched the Black Parade Route to celebrate and elevate entrepreneurs committed to serving and uplifting their local communities. The Route has since supported more than 900 small businesses with $10,000 in relief grants and digital recognition in the United States and abroad. This year, the Black Parade Route continues through exclusive luncheons for BIPOC small business owners in cities along Mrs. Carter’s Renaissance World Tour, including Chicago, New York, Charlotte, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, and New Orleans, between July 21 and September 26.
BeyGOOD has selected 100 entrepreneurs in each city who are disproportionately impacted by economic inequity to attend the Black Parade Route Small Business luncheons. The luncheons will feature business inspiration, networking opportunities, and the potential to receive a small business relief grant, pulling from $100,000 in funds allocated for each location. In addition, BeyGOOD will support 1,000 small businesses through grant opportunities or business services with a $1 million commitment.
“We know that women of color face disproportionate barriers to entrepreneurship and business sustainability and share the same mission as BeyGOOD to accelerate equitable access to affordable working capital and financial resources for all women of color. We take great pride in participating in the Black Parade Route, as we have firsthand witnessed the remarkable power of Black women business owners to uplift their communities and create lasting financial mobility for themselves and future generations.”
Grameen America’s Goal is to Break Down Economic Barriers for Women
Grameen America provides low-income women business owners with loan capital, financial education, asset- and credit-building, and peer support. Since 2008, Grameen America has invested $3.2 billion in affordable capital in more than 172,000 women living in financially underserved communities across the United States. The organization’s repayment rate is over 99% and its members have achieved an average credit score of 653 through participation in the program.
In May 2021, Grameen America launched the Elevating Black Women Entrepreneurs initiative, to accelerate its commitment to racial equity, to offer affordable capital, business training, and peer networking to Black women entrepreneurs. The Elevate initiative currently operates in New York, NY, Newark, NJ, Memphis, TN, and Atlanta, GA. To date, Grameen America has invested $7.3 million in loan capital to more than 1,450 Black women through 3,200 microloans.
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