Commitment and Impact: UPS Programs Empowering Black Entrepreneurs for Success

Black-owned businesses have made tremendous strides in recent years. According to Pew Research, the number of Black-owned employer firms grew 14% from 2017 to 2020 to reach 141K businesses. Despite this, Black-owned employer firms still make up just 3% of all U.S. employer firms and 1% of revenue generated by U.S. employer firms.

The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Black-owned firms secure ~2% of venture capital backing; Black-women-owned firms receive less than 1%, according to Crunchbase. Additionally, venture capital backing in Black-led startups dropped 45% in 2022.

There is still work to be done.

Major corporations are stepping up to provide access to coaching, capital, and other resources. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and other corporations have dedicated programs to address racial inequity and create pathways to opportunity for Black communities.

UPS has worked tirelessly to empower Black business owners. Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Warren wrote an open letter last November to highlight UPS’ commitment to Black business communities in an open letter. 2022 programs included partnerships with New York Fashion Week, the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs, Ignite the Mighty and many others.

UPS continues its work to provide coaches, capital, and educational content to Black founders through its partnership with The Lonely Entrepreneur Learning Community. This one-of-a-kind platform equips business owners with the following:

500+ learning modules on everything a business owner needs to learn!
Leadership
Hiring
Finance
Fundraising
Data Analytics
Marketing
Weekly group coaching with fellow entrepreneurs
1:1 coaching with business experts to tackle unique challenges
Access to vendor discounts and reviews
Hundreds of ready-to-use templates
NDAs
Legal agreements

Ebony Beckford, the founder of FinLitKids, is one entrepreneur who has taken full advantage of the opportunity. Her company creates books and other resources to teach financial literacy to children. She has been an active, welcome contribution to The Lonely Entrepreneur Learning Community. “This is by far the best community I have been a part of thus far. TLE, thank you for being such an amazing resource!” she said. “As a solopreneur, joining the Lonely Entrepreneur Network has been a game-changer in advancing my company. Finding community and support, along with a plethora of resources that can be found in the learning area, has made all the difference in my progress. I am so grateful to UPS Ignite for sponsoring my membership.” Ms. Beckford has also received a $10K UPS Ignite grant to help support her work of empowering students nationwide.

Other founders have shared Ms. Beckford’s experience. “The Program has been invaluable as I prepare for the grand opening of my store. UPS and The Lonely Entrepreneur provide me all the nuances – from digital marketing to trademarks to what it takes to be successful,” said John Marsh, founder of Pop That Pop Gourmet Popcorn store in Chicago.

UPS is looking for more fearless founders for its next cohort. Enjoy 12 months of unlimited access to a community of disruptors and innovators.

Take your business to the next level!

Apply now!

This is one of many ways UPS is working to empower Black founders. To learn more about dedicated programs for diverse founders, please visit: www.about.ups.com/diversebusiness