2 minute read
Supporting Women- & People of Color-Owned Businesses
from CSN-0222
by ensembleiq
Contributing to another’s success won’t ever dampen yours
By Sarah Alter, President & CEO, Network of Executive Women
TRANSFORMING THE SHAPE of the corporate world means change at every level — and that includes buying. Supporting women- and people of color- (POC) owned businesses makes our communities stronger and promotes equality.
With only 38.2 percent of businesses owned by women and people of color, the support of a large organization can make or break their success and the positive impact they bring.
The Issue: Lack of Funding
Women- and POC-owned businesses are less likely to receive venture capital (VC) funding compared to their counterparts. According to a study by Crunchbase, the percentage of venture capital funding received by women business owners fell from 2.8 percent to 2.3 percent in 2019. Additionally, Black and Latinx business owners received just 2.6 percent of venture capital funding in 2020.
If VC funding is not an option, how do these businesses flourish?
By relying mostly on consumers to keep their doors open. Because most VC funding is provided to Caucasian men, buying with these businesses not only keeps them up and running, but also provides jobs for women and BIPOC.
Growing Interest
Major brands and personalities are already advocating for more support, and bringing the lack of funding these businesses face into the public eye. Serena Williams, a recent guest at NEW’s 2021 Leadership Summit, created an early-stage venture capital fund, Serena Ventures, and has provided funding for
women- and minority-owned businesses. Her organization has funded more than 50 companies in a multitude of industries.
Rihanna and H.E.R have provided funding for Partake Foods, a vegan cookie company owned by Denise Woodard. According to Forbes, “Woodard is the first woman of color to raise $1 million for a food startup, and her business is scaling quickly.”
And designer Tory Burch created the Tory Burch Foundation to help female entrepreneurs succeed. The foundation has already granted roughly $25 million to woman-owned startups.
The Benefits Are Clear
Businesses built by under-represented groups offer unique goods and services created from fresh perspectives. But supporting women- and POC-owned businesses means so much more than a unique business opportunity — it means doing the right thing, and building a thriving network of diverse businesses around the country that offer fresh opportunities to these communities. CSN
Sarah Alter is president and CEO of the Network of Executive Women, a learning and leadership community representing more than 14,000 members in 22 regional groups in the United States and Canada. Learn more at newonline.org. Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Convenience Store News. Convenience Store News is pleased to continue this series of educational columns by the Network of Executive Women (NEW), coinciding with the annual CSNews Top Women in Convenience awards given out each fall. Seventy-four female managers, executives and directors who work in the convenience store industry were honored in our 2021 program. In addition to being a presentation sponsor for the Top Women in Convenience program, NEW and CSNews have partnered to develop this series of columns directed at helping corporate leaders drive more inclusive company cultures.
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