ATLANTA, Sept. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Home
Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, will invest
$10 million in venture capital funds
that promote diversity, technology and entrepreneurship: the Base10
Partners Advancement Initiative, L'ATTITUDE VENTURES and Plexo
Capital. These investments are part of the company's commitment to
build meaningful, inclusive and sustainable opportunities for
minority-owned companies and Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs).
- Base10 Partners is a venture firm investing in automation for
the real economy. Base10 leads the Advancement Initiative, a
growth-stage fund that invests in leading pre-IPO companies with
the goal of creating financial aid for 100,000 Historically Black
College and University (HBCU) students.
- L'ATTITUDE VENTURES is an early-stage venture fund that
catalyzes U.S. economic growth by investing exclusively in U.S.
Latino entrepreneurs that leverage technology to disrupt large and
high-growth markets.
- Plexo Capital is an institutional investor that allocates
capital to fund the global startup ecosystem, investing into
venture capital funds that are creating the next generation of
franchises and private companies led by entrepreneurs building the
future.
As part of these venture capital investments, The Home Depot
will work with each fund to provide feedback, mentorship, and deep
industry expertise to diverse founders and entrepreneurs.
"The future of retail lies in technology and innovation, and
we're committed to investing in diverse thought leaders who can
help us disrupt our industry," said Richard
McPhail, chief financial officer and executive vice
president of The Home Depot.
"Striving to close the wealth gap and advancing education for
all are two of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitments we
set forward in 2020," said Derek
Bottoms, chief diversity officer and vice president of
associate relations at The Home Depot. "Investing in these three
particular venture capital funds sets these goals into action in a
significant way."
The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation have committed more
than $45 million since 2017 in organizations working to
improve social equity. In 2020, The Home Depot announced that it
was doubling its investment to a million dollars annually for the
Retool Your School program, which benefits historically Black
colleges and universities. The company also announced its goal to
build a program to encourage its own suppliers to increase their
business with diverse suppliers and expand the company's downstream
impact with diverse organizations nationwide.
ABOUT THE HOME DEPOT
The Home Depot is the world's
largest home improvement specialty retailer. At the end of the
second quarter, the Company operated a total of 2,298 Home Depot
retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S.
Virgin Islands, Guam, 10
Canadian provinces and Mexico. In
fiscal 2020, The Home Depot had sales of $132.1 billion and earnings of $12.9 billion. The Company employs approximately
500,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones
industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.
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SOURCE The Home Depot