UBS and Hello Alice Launch Grant Program to Bridge the Funding Gap for Female Founders of Color
October 11 2021 - 11:30AM
Business Wire
Thirty female founders of color to be awarded a $25,000 grant
to help accelerate the growth of their companies
Today, Project Entrepreneur, a program by UBS focused on
increasing the success of female founders, in partnership with
Hello Alice, a multichannel platform that helps businesses launch
and grow, announced a program designed to help level the playing
field for female founders of color and close the gap in obtaining
equal access to capital. The program, titled “Democratizing the
Friends & Family Round,” will award $25,000 grants to 30
participants and reinforces UBS’s commitment to addressing wealth
inequality.
Black and Latinx female founders receive less than 1% of venture
capital1 with the funding gap that entrepreneurs of color
experience happening well before they prepare to raise their first
venture round. Nearly 40%2 of early-stage entrepreneurs raise
initial funding through a “Friends and Family” investment round
rather than through credited investors. Additionally, as a result
of the racial wealth gap—the disparity in median wealth between
people of different races—most entrepreneurs of color do not have
access to a network that can provide them with the necessary
funding. All this prevents them from testing their innovations,
hiring key talent, and having the runway to grow and raise future
investment.
“Funding disparities that founders of color experience represent
a failure of the system, not of the founders,” said Jamie Sears,
Head of Community Affairs & Corporate Responsibility, Americas
at UBS. “Our mission at Project Entrepreneur, is to support and
help level the playing field for female founders with the tools,
resources and supportive ecosystem they need to succeed. This
program plays an important role in closing the equity gap for
female founders of color and accelerating the growth of their
companies.”
“As a Latina-owned company, we know firsthand how difficult it
can be to raise venture funds,” said Elizabeth Gore, Co-Founder and
President of Hello Alice. “We started Hello Alice to provide access
to capital for New Majority owners, and we are excited to work with
UBS on this grant program to help female founders of color get a
head start with their businesses.”
In addition to receiving $25,000 in grant funding, each founder
will have access to virtual coaching and other skill-building
opportunities with UBS and Hello Alice. All applicants, regardless
of whether they’re shortlisted to the final 30, will receive free
access to thousands of curated resources and a community of
450,000+ business owners through Hello Alice.
To be eligible for the program, applicants must be leading a
high-growth company registered in the U.S. and have at least one
founder who identifies as a woman of color. The deadline to apply
is November 10, 2021 and winners will be announced in late January
2022. Full application details can be found at:
https://ubs.helloalice.com.
Notes to Editors
About Project Entrepreneur
Project Entrepreneur, a flagship program by UBS, is on a mission
to change the status quo female founders by increasing their
investment readiness, connecting them to the networks and resources
they need to grow and scale their companies, and expand the
ecosystem of support that advance women entrepreneurs. Since 2015,
Project Entrepreneur has trained and supported more than 1,800
female founders with alumni going on to raise more than $60M in
capital.
About UBS
UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy,
institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private
clients in Switzerland. UBS is the largest truly global wealth
manager, and a leading personal and corporate bank in Switzerland,
with a large-scale and diversified global asset manager and a
focused investment bank. The bank focuses on businesses that have a
strong competitive position in their targeted markets, are capital
efficient, and have an attractive long-term structural growth or
profitability outlook.
UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has
offices in more than 50 regions and locations, with about 30% of
its employees working in the Americas, 30% in Switzerland, 19% in
the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 21% in Asia
Pacific. UBS Group AG employs more than 72,000 people around the
world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
About Hello Alice
Hello Alice is a free, multichannel platform that helps
businesses launch and grow. With a community of nearly 500,000
business owners in all 50 states and across the globe, Hello Alice
is building the largest network of owners in the country while
tracking data and trends to increase the success rate for
entrepreneurs. Our partners include enterprise business services,
government agencies, and institutions looking to serve small- and
medium-business owners to ensure increased revenues and promote
scale. A Latina owned company, founded by Carolyn Rodz and
Elizabeth Gore, we believe in business for all by providing access
to all owners including women, people of color, veterans, and
everyone with an entrepreneurial spirit. To learn more, visit
www.helloalice.com.
https://www.ubs.com
© UBS 2021. All rights reserved. The key symbol and UBS are
among the registered and unregistered trademarks of UBS.
1 https://www.projectdiane.com/ 2
https://www.fundable.com/learn/resources/guides/investor/types-of-investors
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211011005524/en/
Laura Hastings laura.hastings@ubs.com +1 212 882-5705
UBS (NYSE:UBS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
UBS (NYSE:UBS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024