Mastercard Gifts $5M To Spelman and Morehouse Colleges Toward Developing Black Entrepreneurs

Today, Mastercard announced a $5 million grant of support to the campaign to develop the Center for Black Entrepreneurship (CBE), a university-level program that will help assemble, educate, and empower a new generation of Black entrepreneurial talent.

In partnership with the Black Economic Alliance (BEA) Foundation, a leading national organization promoting economic mobility and prosperity for Black Americans, Morehouse College and Spelman College are in the process of establishing the CBE with financial support and thought partnership from a growing coalition of committed corporate partners, including Mastercard, Bank of America, and others.

The CBE will eliminate opportunity gaps between Black entrepreneurs, professional investors, and business builders by leveraging education, mentorship, access to capital, and opportunity. Mastercard’s grant will support the hiring of adjunct faculty, the creation of an online entrepreneurship program, experiential courses, and pitch competitions that will enable students to put their classroom instruction in practice.

In addition to the grant, Mastercard will provide in-kind support, such as digital technology training and access to Start Path, the company’s global start-up engagement program created to help the best and brightest later stage start-ups maximize their opportunity for success. This partnership comes at an exciting time when students at the Atlanta University Center (AUC) are returning to campus in person for the first time in over a year and kicking off CBE-related curriculum as well as co-curricular programming that will expand the reach of the CBE beyond the four schools at the AUC to the entire Atlanta metro region and beyond.

“Long-term investment in Black entrepreneurs is critical to driving equitable and sustainable economic growth for local economies and the U.S. economy alike,” said David Clunie, Executive Director of the Black Economic Alliance. “The Center for Black Entrepreneurship will create an ecosystem of opportunity and investment that will catalyze the multiplier effect of generating more Black founders who hire more Black employees and re-invest in more Black businesses and Black communities. We appreciate Mastercard’s thoughtful partnership in this endeavor and their commitment to supporting inclusive economic growth.”

“That Black founders historically have received only 1% of venture capital financing is not an issue of Black talent, but of systemic barriers. The Center for Black Entrepreneurship is a model for how we break down those barriers and build the Black generational wealth that is essential to the health of our nation’s economy,” said Samantha Tweedy, President of the Black Economic Alliance Foundation. “The BEA Foundation is grateful to Mastercard and all of our funding partners for investing in Morehouse and Spelman’s strong culture of entrepreneurship to support the next generation of Black talent.”

“For over a century, HBCUs have played a critical role in nurturing professional talent and creating economic mobility in Black communities,” said Salah Goss, Senior Vice President for Social Impact at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “By investing in HBCUs, Mastercard is intentionally choosing key institutions who we believe can be catalytic in furthering our commitment to ensuring that the digital economy works for the Black community, and for everyone, everywhere.”

The CBE will be located on the campuses of Spelman College and Morehouse College in southwest Atlanta. Spelman plans to house it in its new academic facility, the Center for Innovation & the Arts, and Morehouse will house it within a new facility on campus. The Atlanta metro area is home to 57 colleges and universities and over 100,000 Black-owned businesses, making it a hub for Black students and entrepreneurs. Despite Atlanta being the ninth-largest metro area in the country and housing the second-largest population of Black people in America, there is a significant disconnect between venture capital firms that are traditionally West Coast-based and emerging Black student entrepreneurs, who are disproportionately located on the East Coast and in the South.

“We are excited by the possibility of building an entrepreneurship curriculum within our outstanding department of economics,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., President of Spelman. “Through the support of Mastercard, the College will be able to build curricular and co-curricular strength that encourages and supports AUC students intent on the creation and sustainability of new businesses that will ultimately create wealth within our communities.”

The CBE was initially powered by $10 million in seed funding from Bank of America, which is supporting the development of an academic curriculum, faculty recruitment, and co-curricular programming. The CBE continues to attract funding and partnership from businesses across industries, leading investors, and the most successful entrepreneurs to support the CBE with capital, networks, and mentorship. The BEA Foundation continues to solicit and onboard the right funding and thought partners to create a best-in-class ecosystem of exposure, support, and investment in Black entrepreneurs. To learn more about the CBE or how you can support its development, visit the BEA Foundation website.