Greenwood Inc. Continues To Lead ‘Bank Black’ Movement With Another $45 Million In Venture Capital Funding

Greenwood Inc., which kicked off the “Bank Black” movement in 2020, announced that it has raised $45 million in venture capital funding to expand its digital banking services.

Forbes reports the Atlanta-based digital banking platform is co-founded by former entertainment executive Ryan Glover, tech entrepreneur Paul Judge, 90-year-old former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young Jr., and rapper Michael “Killer Mike” Render.

Greenwood Inc., named after the Oklahoma city where the Tulsa Race Massacre

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Greenwood Inc. currently has about 100,000 accounts, with another 200,000 on a waiting list. The digital bank’s latest funding round was led by Pendulum, a firm that targets Black and Brown founders. The investment made Pendulum the largest investor on a dollar basis in the digital banking platform.

“Obviously, we need the broader capital markets to work more proportionally for Black and Brown folks,” Pendulum CEO Robbie Robinson, whose firm also serves as a strategic adviser to the Obama family, told Forbes. 

“But we’ve also got enough going on within our own communities where we can demonstrate the power of our ecosystem and our network effect.”

Last year, Greenwood Inc. raised $40 million in a funding round for the digital banking platform.

The current funding comes on the heels of Greenwood Inc.’s acquisitions of Valence, a Black professional social networking platform, and The Gathering Spot, a co-working and event space geared toward Black professionals. Greenwood Inc. has created a membership club called Elevate that offers access and expanded benefits to Valence and The Gathering Spot and other exclusive experiences, including private concerts and meet-and-greet events.

According to Glover, Greenwood believes combining banking services, networking, and career development and advancement can help Black and Brown families and entrepreneurs grow and maintain wealth.

“We will not be able to extinguish the wealth gap that exists in America,” Glover said. “But we want to put a dent in it.”

Greenwood Inc.’s standard banking platform will be free,e and its premium tier will be $10 a month. The Elevate membership will cost $200 per month.