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Square is continuing to do its part to move the needle, literally, for Black and Latino retailers. This time around, the fin-tech company has added star power for the launch of Forward, an accelerator program designed to provide capital, coaching and products to under-resourced small business owners.
The program will support 25 early-stage businesses in the retail sector with $20,000 in funding and access to training developed in partnership with 1863 Ventures, a Washington, D.C.-based Black-led VC fund. Through the curriculum, owners can learn how to develop their customers, manage their financial goals and scale their business operations.
Among the mentors on hand for the program: actor, activist and designer, Rosario Dawson; author, chef and Sweet July CEO Ayesha Curry; financial advisers and hosts of the Earn Your Leisure podcast Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings; and former NBA All-Star and co-founder of Social Change Fund United Dwyane Wade.
“We’re proud to have such incredible partners in our celebrity mentors,” said Lauren Weinberg, Square’s chief marketing officer. “Ayesha Curry and Rosario Dawson both use Square in their businesses, and we’re always excited when we’re able to team up with our sellers,” adding that Wade’s work “aligns perfectly with Square’s purpose of economic empowerment.”
American Express will also provide additional support for the initiative through funding and coaching opportunities for participants.
A representative for Square shared with Adweek that since March 16, when the company launched its dedicated site and promotional campaign for the initiative, it has received hundreds of applicants—a majority of whom are women of color. Applications close April 1, and Forward participants will be invited to Miami for a capstone event in early June.
Bolstering a boom in brown businesses
Be it through an increase of innovation, ambition or sheer necessity due to lack of adequate career advancement opportunities and poor compensation, entrepreneurs of color have been leading the country’s new business boom.
Business Insider reported more than 5 million new business applications were filed in 2022, most of which were by Black and Latino founders.
But as New Voices Fund founder Rich Dennis, among an increasing cohort of notable entrepreneurs who have managed to achieve staying power, noted: The cards are often stacked against them when it comes to long-term success, with many of them closing within the first 18 months.
