Sage, The BOSS Network, And Swoop Launch New Mentorship Program For Atlanta’s Black Women Entrepreneurs
Sage, The BOSS Network, and Swoop have unveiled a new training and mentorship program to support Black women entrepreneurs in Atlanta.
Sage is a small and medium-sized business accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology leader.
The BOSS Network, founded by Dr. Cameka Smith, is an online community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other through conversations or online and event-based networking.
Swoop is a global fintech company specializing in funding solutions for businesses, and together, the three have created the Pathways to Success program.
Challenges Black Women Founders Face
The program was developed directly from Sage, The BOSS Network, and Swoop’s report titled “Voices of Strength: Pathways to Success for Black Women Founders,” launched in September 2023.
The report identified the most prominent challenges Black women founders in Atlanta face, including a lack of access to funding through grants and government resources.
The challenges included a need for more mentorship and the ability to scale their businesses digitally for growth.
“Atlanta is uniquely positioned with the highest concentration of Black entrepreneurs in the US,” said Aziz Benmalek, President of North America at Sage.
“When we uncovered the challenges Black women founders were having in our research, we decided it was vital to move forward with a meaningful program to address the issues around funding capital and access to caching and networking connections.”
Pathways To Success
The Pathways to Success training and mentor program is developed and delivered through Sage Foundation.
It will equip 150 Atlanta-based Black women entrepreneurs with a structured series of training and roundtables, providing tactical advice to address and overcome financial and capital-raising challenges.
Participants will receive one year of training access and a three-year membership to The BOSS Network.
“Some business owners have been historically under-represented, but that means there is potential for huge, positive change,” said Andrea Reynolds, CEO and Founder of Swoop.
“With Sage and BOSS, we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
The applications for the program close on February 5, 2024.
