Ayesha Curry has an impressive list of accomplishments, from being a television personality to an actress and a bestselling author.
Now, she has an even more ambitious goal: to help one million black women-owned businesses and owners within the coming 10 years.
A Helping Hand
Curry recently joined Goldman Sachs’ “One Million Black Women” initiative, becoming a board member.
The initiative promises to invest $10 billion in black women-owned businesses over the next decade. Curry has also held listening sessions with black women business owners from the restaurant industry.
Curry’s ambitious goal is to help Black women business owners from various industries to have bigger access to capital. She also wants to give them tools to help their businesses survive during and beyond the Coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview with Know Your Value, Curry revealed that the pandemic has shattered various industries, with the restaurant industry being among the worst-affected.
She stressed the importance of giving these businesses access to capital, especially now; this is to keep the businesses from going under, and to even help them find growth.
Ayesha Curry isn’t the only well-known Black woman on the initiative’s advisory council. It also has former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Valerie Jarrett, former President Barack Obama’s senior advisor.
The Rise of Black Women-Owned Businesses
In a lot of instances, black women-owned businesses—and black-owned businesses in general—were growing exponentially before the pandemic hit.
In fact, American Express’ “State of women-owned businesses” report states that, between 2014 and 2019, Black women was the demographic launching new businesses at higher rates than any other.
At the same time, female-owned businesses increased by a respectable 21 percent, while Black women-owned businesses grew by a whopping 50 percent.
With the financial ramifications of the pandemic, many Black women-owned businesses are at risk; a lot of them are just trying to stay afloat. A reason for this is that there is a huge presence of Black enterprises in the heavily affected industries, from food and personal care to retail.
It’s Personal
For Curry, this initiative is personal. She grew up watching her mother building her hair salon. For 40 years, her mom was a stylist and eventually a small business owner.
Curry understands the hard work and strength behind such businesses. She has followed the same ethics throughout her career; which has helped to make her so successful.
Curry plans to help Black women-owned businesses in the restaurant industry around Oakland, California.
She will work with people like Chef Reign Free, who recently started the Black Culinary Collective.
Hopefully, the One Million Black Women” Initiative will help Black women not just to survive, but to thrive in the coming years.
