On the heels of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement being reignited after the murder of George Floyd, at the hands of police, more venture capitalists (VCs) are jumping on the bandwagon of investing in entrepreneurs of color. The movement has shed a light on the plethora of inequities people of color face in the country, along with the significant income and wealth disparity between Black and White communities.
Lorine Pendleton, an investor who has been funding underrepresented entrepreneurs for more than seven and a half years, knows about this disparity very well. Believing that economic opportunity and entrepreneurship are the keys to Black wealth, Pendleton, along with four other world-class female investors — Karen Karr, Noramay Cadena, Daphne Dufresne, Juliana Garaizar — is leading Rising America Fund, the first venture capital fund led by women of color partners.
The group’s nontraditional VC model is focused on investing in diverse entrepreneurs who are a part of the Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ communities, with products and services that cater to their markets. With only 1% of Black-led companies getting VC funding, many have yet to be given a seat at the table. The Rising America Fund is changing this narrative by investing in companies that are often overlooked and underfunded.
To learn more about the fund visit http://portfolia.co/risingamerica-fund
For press inquiries, contact Xina Eiland at xina@xinapr.com and 703-785-4358