Black-Owned Startups To Receive $8.7B In Funding, According To Vice President Kamala Harris

Black-owned startups will soon have access to billions of dollars, thanks to this latest move by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The move, which will see financial institutions servicing minority and underserved small business owners receive $8.7 billion in funding, is a part of the $12 billion that Harris locked in during 2020 while she was still a U.S. Senator.

“Today, the wealth gap persists. Today, the homeownership gap persists… access to capital is unequal,” said Harris, during her remarks at the forum, where she announced the news.

“Black entrepreneurs are three times more likely to report that a lack of access to capital negatively affects their profit margins. I believe that the actions we are taking and must take, to address these disparities will define our nation’s strength and economic strength in the 21st century.”

The bill establishes the Minority Bank Deposit Program to expand the use of minority depository institutions to hold the deposits of federal departments and agencies,

It also allows new minority depository institutions to take three years to meet initial capital requirements, and

The Jobs and Neighbourhood Investment Act establishes a program allowing minority depository institutions to apply to receive deposits from certain Treasury accounts.

Click here for more on The Jobs and Neighborhood Investment Act.