Two US corporations are using venturing to support black and underrepresented minority entrepreneurs.
Delta Dental has committed to a $50m venture capital fund run by Lightship Capital and supported its move to Detroit. Founded by Candice Matthews Brackeen, Lightship is the largest such fund raised by a black woman in the US and will invest in women and minority owned businesses.
Margaret Trimer, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Delta Dental, in an interview with Matthews Brackeen on WWJ radio said it was part of the company’s view about both doing well by diversifying its investments and doing good for society by being more inclusive.
She added the Black Lives Matter movement had just made its talks with Lightship that started at the beginning of the year more urgent.
Accenture Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of management consultants Accenture, has separately set up the tech-focused Black Founders Development Program, including a fund to back early-stage software startups created and led by black founders in the US.
Kathryn Ross, global open innovation lead and the Black Founders Development Program lead at Accenture Ventures, said: “Leadership, resources, technology and investment knowledge are all areas where Accenture can deliver significant support to Black entrepreneurs, helping them to accelerate innovation and further grow their businesses.”
Paul Daugherty, group chief executive – technology and chief technology officer at Accenture, added: “Black entrepreneurs continue to innovate, but face bias and lack access to capital and opportunity in the venture capital community, receiving a disproportionately small amount of funding.”
Accenture Ventures has set up a Black Founders Development Advisory Council, including Springboard Enterprises co-founder Kay Koplovitz and Rapid7 CEO Corey Thomas, which will also provide mentorship to the startups it invests in.
Accenture said by 2025 it would increase black representation within its ranks from 9% to 12%, including increasing representation in managing director positions from 2.8% to 4.4%.
Photo source: Candice Matthews Brackeen from LinkedIn
