July 18, 2022

Fearless Fund Partners with Foundation To Launch New School

Black-owned investment firm Fearless Fund partnered with Louisiana-based foundation ProSeed to renovate and rebuild schools in Ivory Coast, West Africa.

The partnership aims to transform the educational system in West Africa, giving students the tools needed to succeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Fearless Fund, co-founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur and angel investor Arian Simone, and American actress Keshia Knight Pulliam, works to invest in women of color-led businesses seeking pre-seed and seed level investment funding.

The VC firm, built by women of color for women of color, aims to bridge the gap in venture capital funding, proportionately providing businesses with the necessary support needed to make scalable, growth aggressive companies.

“Women of color are the most founded, entrepreneurial demographic [but] they are the least funded,” said Simone, co-founder of Fearless Fund.

“Until we all recognize that our distinct differences can be the greatest asset to the development of innovation, solutions, and growth, the industry will continue to overlook promising companies.”

ProSeed‘s mission began after a trip to the Ivory Coast in 2016. The team supported a local, regional school and built a 2,000-square-foot playground for approximately 400 students during their time there. Years later, the company has widened its services to help schools across the continent by promoting STEM Education and Careers and providing students with academic scholarships worldwide.

Their overall mission is to help underserved villages maintain sustainable educational institutions. According to its website, the platform states that “the organization has propelled students’ academic success rates on national exams from 40 percent to 90 percent.”

The Arian Simone Fearless Leadership Academy’s new elementary school will open in October 2022 and primarily focuses on promoting STEM education to elementary-aged children living in the Dawa Grand Berebi Village.

Kumba Kpakima

Kumba Kpakima is a reporter at POCIT. A documentary about the knife crime epidemic in the UK got her a nomination for the UK's #30toWatch Young Journalists of the Year.