June 30, 2023
Pronghorn Is Putting Its Money Where Its Mouth Is Investing In 19 Black-Owned Businesses Raising $200M In Capital
Pronghorn, a company working to cultivate and support the next generation of Black entrepreneurs and executives in the spirits industry, announced a 10-year, $200 million initiative.
According to a Pronghorn statement, the announcement was made in conjunction with the release of its first Impact Report. It has raised $200 million in support of the company’s mission of supporting Black spirits entrepreneurs.
Since the company’s inception in 2022, Pronghorn has invested in 19 spirit brands, fueling Pronghorn’s 10-year plan to invest in 57 Black-owned spirit brands, driving ownership and equity in an industry with an increasing number of Black owners.
According to the Impact Report, Black Americans represent 12% of all spirits consumers but only 7% of the spirits labor force and just 2% of the executive level. During its first year, Pronghorn was able to identify 258 Black-owned spirits companies, support the businesses of 40 individual Black founders, and invest in 19 portfolio brands, including Ten to One Caribbean Rum, Anteel Tequila, IslandJon Vodka, and Greenwood Whiskey.
Other popular Black-owned spirit brands include Duke & Dame and Uncle Nearest whiskey brands.
The impact report also showed that Pronghorn achieved 5% of its goal to place Black employees within 1,800 industry roles. The 10-year, $200 million investment is a step toward Pronghorn’s goal to produce $2.4 billion of industry economic value, driven by employment for the Black community, by 2032.
The company has also started several initiatives to help further establish Black men and women in the spirits industry, including its HBCU Innovation Lab and the Pronghorn Spirits Academy.
“Since inception, our mission has been crystal clear in creating a template to diversify any industry and, in doing so, help be a force in supporting new founders, bold executives, and the businesses of Black entrepreneurs within the spirits industry. We couldn’t be more proud of the Pronghorn team’s pace of progress toward our goal within just one year of launch. So much hard work remains, but this investment is significant, and the purpose is powerful,” Dia Simms, Pronghorn co-founder, and board chair, said in a statement.