Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter and philanthropist Ciara is teaming up with Meta, formerly Facebook, to help Black-owned businesses level-up this holiday season.
The R&B star shared the mic with Meta’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, at Friday’s 2021 Forbes Next 1000 Summit for the big announcement.
During the virtual event, Meta shared that Ciara will be supporting their efforts to help Black-owned businesses recover from loss due to the pandemic. She’ll be nominating 10 businesses to receive one-on-one mentorship from Meta. Each nominee will receive six weeks of close support from the company to help them build marketing campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, Adweek reported.
In addition, those Black-owned businesses will also receive $100,000 in ad credits and creative support, and a scholarship for Meta Blueprint’s digital marketing skills certificate.
Ciara will also be curating a #BuyBlack Friday gift guide that features products from Black-owned businesses. On Nov. 22, the guide will become available to the public via the Facebook Shop tab.
“It’s important that we give as many brands as possible the opportunity to sell as many products as possible this holiday season,” Ciara said. “I want to encourage you to not just buy this holiday, but to #BuyBlack.”
Sandberg also shared that Meta will donate $250,000 to U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., an organization that advocates and provides resources for Black enterprises to develop and grow. The funds were donated to further support pandemic recovery for local small and mid-sized Black-owned businesses.
“In the U.S., Black-owned businesses have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic, and this holiday season will be make or break for many,” Sandberg said in a statement, according to Adweek. “One way we can all make a difference is through conscious shopping, which is why I’m thrilled to partner with Ciara to support #BuyBlack and do what we can to help Black-owned small businesses.”