Grameen America, a leading microfinance nonprofit organisation in the USA, has announced plans to accelerate its commitment to racial equity through its new Elevating Black Women Entrepreneurs initiative.
The dedicated programme, which will offer loan capital, financial training, asset and credit building tools to Black women entrepreneurs, aims to expand to $1.3 billion in loans to more than 80,000 Black women entrepreneurs by 2030.
The organisation confirmed the matter through a press release issued on May 13.
Grameen America helps increase women's financial mobility through its approach of engaging with and lending directly to women entrepreneurs. Since its inception in January 2008, the organisation has invested more than $1.9 billion in over 136,000 low-income women entrepreneurs, and it expects to reach more than half a million women by 2030, according to the press release.
Grameen America estimates that due to a lack of access to affordable credit and capital, there are at least 1.4 million self-employed Black women who could benefit from the organization's capital and resources to enhance their financial independence.
"The launch of the Elevating Black Women Entrepreneurs initiative reflects our shared commitment to ensuring racial and financial equity for Black entrepreneurial women throughout the United States," said Andrea Jung, president and CEO of Grameen America.
"Through this new program, which will leverage our unique group lending model and infrastructure built over 13 years, we hope to meaningfully address systemic inequities faced by Black businesswomen, which will play a transformative role in enhancing the pipeline of emerging entrepreneurs in our country," he said.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, co-chair of Grameen America and founder of Grameen Bank, said, "This initiative must not wait. It is imperative that we help shape the future for Black women entrepreneurs in the United States."
"I have no doubt we will create a successful microfinance program that gives the same opportunity to Black Americans to live free of poverty, as we have with Grameen borrowers all over the world," Yunus added.
The Elevating Black Women Entrepreneurs Division of Grameen America will be led by Alethia Mendez, the inaugural centre manager for Grameen America's Jackson Heights branch.
With funding support from The Studio @ Blue Meridian, Grameen America will launch a network of new branches, beginning with one in Memphis, Tennessee in 2021, over the next three years to provide Black women entrepreneurs with loan capital and financial training.
