Former NBA superstar and business guru Shaquille O’Neal
is stepping up again, collaborating with financial giant American Express to create a $10 million grant program for black-owned businesses.
We all know Shaq is a super-successful businessman and investor himself. We’ve talked a lot about his business dealings here on ShaqFu Radio. Among other things, he’s a member of the Board of Directors for Papa John’s Pizza. He’s also the owner and/or investor in several other businesses.
The new program is called. “Coalition to Back Black Businesses.” It is geared to help Black-owned small businesses recover and grow after COVID-19. At the start, about 280 Black business owners with three to 20 employees that are eligible for the program…they’ll each get a $5,000 grant from the program. Applications for the grants must be submitted by Sept. 21. Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements outlined here as well.
This isn’t the first time Shaq has partnered with big business to promote philanthropic work he supports…often in the background, without a lot of publicity.
Shaq: “They’re giving $10 million over four years to small businesses, and I think it’s a great program. We’re not only giving money but also guiding them and helping them with what they need to get to the next level.”
How to Support Black-Owned Businesses in the Solar Industry https://www.ecowatch.com/black-owned-businesses-solar.html
For the full video from the post above, go here: https://www.blackenterprise.com/shaq-and-amex-team-up-to-launch-10-million-grant-for-small-black-businesses/
AMEX announced the program back in June, but with the Covid situation, it’s taking some time to get off the ground. Now, the program has lined up a first-of-its-kind collaboration between four major Black chambers: the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the National Business League, the U.S. Black Chambers Inc., and Walker’s Legacy. Also included, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, a major business organization.
Andre Williams, AMEX Group President for Global Merchant and Network Services says his company is looking to help out in a bigger way. ‘”Small businesses play a crucial role in our communities, and when the pandemic hit, Black-owned small businesses were hit the hardest,” he said. “The Coalition is aimed to provide eligible Black-owned small businesses with much-needed capital to help recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic and help them rebuild their businesses.”
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, minority-owned small firms are more likely to report trying and failing to secure a loan to help survive the economic turmoil (13% vs. 8% of non-minority businesses) and, most recently, 66% of minority-owned small businesses reported concerns about having to permanently close their business. This new program with AMEX and Shaq should help some stay in business and make it through current challenging times.