Macy’s launches entrepreneurship program to support diverse business owners
Numbers and data show that women and businesses owned by people of color are lacking.
Macy’s department store recently announced that it will invest around $30 million over the next five years to help small retail business owners elevate their careers.
The department store will be working alongside nonprofit organization, Momentous Capital, and will provide the money into three separate sources to give to underrepresented retail owners across the country.
This is a part of their program the retail chain launched last Spring called, Mission Every One, where Macys promised to spend over $5 billion through 2025 on initiatives to promote inclusivity and diversity.
The money will be given through loans for working capital. Macy’s representatives said it will not only help give diverse businesses a chance to thrive in the business realm, it will also boost capital for Macy’s by adding more vendors to its company.
Given the fact that Macy’s is the largest retail chain in America, it gives businesses who are involved with the entrepreneurial program the opportunity to succeed.
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“This gives them an opportunity to breathe a little bit, and that’s important in companies that have great ideas but they need to take root,” Macy’s chief executive, Jeff Gennette, said to The New York Times.
He also mentioned that the program is more than just focusing on staying afloat, it will also help retailers provide strategic growth advice, help with credit improvement, create business templates, and provide access to professional services both in person and online.
“By investing in high-growth underrepresented businesses at all stages of growth, we intend to create meaningful economic impact within our communities, while serving our customers,” said Gennette.
Macy’s is also a part of the Fifteen Percent Pledge, an organization dedicated to adding more Black-owned businesses to the forefront, since Black people make up 15% of the U.S population.
“We have emphasized a holistic approach in regard to supporting Black businesses, meaning that we work closely with retailers to identify opportunities, beyond just expanded shelf space, to break down barriers that have systematically held back Black entrepreneurs,” LaToya Williams-Belfort, the 15 Percent Pledge executive director, said in an email.
Macy’s has the ability to give more diverse retailers the opportunity to showcase their talent and passion to prospective customers, and in doing so, Black and brown businesses will have the opportunity to succeed.
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