Former Howard University Professor Dr. Grant Warner has been named the executive director of the Center for Black Entrepreneurship.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the Center for Black Entrepreneurship is an initiative developed by Spelman College, Morehouse College, and the Black Economic Alliance Foundation with a $10 million grant from Bank of America (BoA).
Warner has more than 15 years of experience in higher education and business, having served as the director of innovation and professor at Howard University, where he developed the HowU initiative, which teaches how to become tech startup founders.
The former Howard professor is also the co-founder of the social analytics platform, ConnectYard, and startup consulting firm, XediaLabs.
“I am honored to join the CBE, to build on Spelman’s and Morehouse’s strong legacies of innovation and partner with the Black Economic Alliance to achieve the CBE’s mission,” Warner said in a Spelman release.
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I have dedicated my career to identifying and implementing new opportunities for Black entrepreneurs, particularly at HBCUs. I strongly believe in the CBE’s vision of developing commercial pathways for Black entrepreneurs and building an ecosystem of investors and business leaders to support them, and I am excited to help bring the vision to life.”The center was established in 2021 to grow the number and abilities of young, Black entrepreneurs, and builds on current entrepreneurship programs at the two HBCU schools. It also provides academic opportunities for non-students and students of other HBCUs, and will act as an intermediary between businesses and Black founders. In addition to being the center’s executive director, Warner will also serve as the BoA-endowed professor of entrepreneurship.
The Center will be located at the Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab at Spelman College. The new space was made possible by a $10 million donation from Blank, who owns the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta United MLS franchise.
In addition to Blank’s donation and BoA’s initial $10 million donation, Cisco Systems has donated $4 million, Visa has pledged $5 million, and BoA has invested an additional $5 million.
Black entrepreneurship skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic as millions of Black men and women who lost jobs took their finances into their own hands. However, according to Lending Tree, the percentage of Black businesses in the U.S. is just 2.4%, proving the center is needed.
Additionally, the Propel Center, located at Clark Atlanta University will also provide HBCU students with entrepreneurial and technological skills to grow the number of Black entrepreneurs.