Black Women's Economic Empowerment through Collective Investment

I had to share this because it hit me right in the chest. I’ve been seeing this signal for a while now… We celebrate entrepreneurship, and don’t get me wrong - building something of your own can be powerful, freeing, life-changing. It’s sexy to talk about making your own schedule and working on your own terms. But there’s another truth: A lot of us didn’t start businesses from inspiration alone. We started from necessity. From survival. From being overlooked. Burnt out with dealing microagressions on the daily. Being undervalued, over mentored, and underpaid From realizing that “stability” at work wasn’t actually stable for us. So when Black women are leaving the workforce (by choice or not) we *must* ask better questions… What are workplaces failing to provide? Why does safety and belonging feel optional? Why does survival keep getting rebranded as ambition? Entrepreneurship became the exit for many, but it also became the burden, because now we’re building what we should have had access to in the first place. Entrepreneurship should be a choice and not the only place left to go. That’s the signal.

These three questions she posed are important: What are workplaces failing to provide? Why does safety and belonging feel optional? Why does survival keep getting rebranded as ambition?

As we reflect during Women’s History Month, it is important to recognize the critical role Black women play in shaping the future of Black wealth and generational prosperity. For generations, Black women have been builders, leaders, and stabilizers within families, communities, and businesses. Today, that influence is expanding even further through entrepreneurship, leadership, and investment. Black women are one of the fastest-growing groups of entrepreneurs in the United States, launching businesses, creating jobs, and building economic pathways for the next generation. But generational wealth is not built through income alone. It is built through ownership, financial education, leadership development, and community collaboration. Black women are increasingly leading conversations around financial literacy, homeownership, business ownership, and legacy planning—helping shift the focus from survival to long-term wealth creation. When Black women lead businesses, invest in their communities, mentor young entrepreneurs, and pass down knowledge, they create ripple effects that impact families for decades. They are not just building successful careers; they are building foundations for generational change. At Black Business Solutions, we believe strengthening leadership, improving customer experience, and building sustainable businesses are key parts of strengthening economic ecosystems. Supporting Black women in leadership and entrepreneurship is not just about representation—it is about building stronger communities and creating long-term wealth that can be passed down for generations. The future of Black wealth will be shaped by leaders who understand both impact and ownership. Black women continue to be at the center of that movement. #WomensHistoryMonth #BlackWomenInLeadership #GenerationalWealth #BlackEntrepreneurs #EconomicEmpowerment

Women’s History Month often celebrates representation. But representation alone doesn’t explain how power actually works. Moments like the Texas Senate primary, where leaders like Jasmine Crockett competed in a highly watched race, remind us of something important. Experience and credibility matter.
But power rarely moves through individuals alone. It moves through systems. Donor networks.
Party machinery.
Media ecosystems.
Institutional relationships. The same dynamics show up in business. The people who shape outcomes usually sit inside systems most people never see. And if we’re honest, Black women have often been asked to drive progress without controlling the infrastructure behind it. We see the same pattern in the economy. Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the country, yet remain among the least funded. Which raises a deeper question. Are we building visibility?
Or building ownership? Recognition matters. But ownership, networks, and institutional access matter more. And building those things rarely happens alone. It happens through ecosystems.
Through institutions. Through communities willing to invest in each other. That’s the kind of ecosystem we’re working to build here in North Texas. Because conversations about money, power, and influence aren’t abstract, they shape who gets to build, lead, and participate in the future of our economy.

In a famous line from the hit musical, Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. sings, “I want to be in the room where it happens.” Access to capital shapes everything – who builds, who scales, who wins. This month, I had the honor of attending the 2nd annual Black Women Investors Network brunch held in commemoration of Women’s History Month. The panelists are Davids who have already taken down Goliaths in some of the most competitive arenas in finance. As a founder building at the intersection of climate innovation, food systems, and consumer brands, understanding capital flows is crucial to shaping the future of innovation and economic growth—not only in the US, but also in emerging markets. I believe climate—and within it, food systems—will radically shape the future, for good or bad, depending on who controls the money and who gets it. It’s imperative we get money into the right hands. How do we change that? We need more people who can read the signals shaping the world, connect the dots, and act collaboratively—capital allocators and market-innovating entrepreneurs. I plan to stay in the room where it happens. There’s much work to be done. Thank you to Marcelia Freeman, Margaret Anadu, Tessa Flippin, and Paula Campbell Roberts for sharing your journeys. Your pursuit of excellence expanded the way I think. Thank You Black Women Investors Network for curating women who have already defied the odds. Also, a big thank you to Chidera Sonia Nelson for sharing the event with me, and Chioma B. Igwebuike for your support.

Black women today are starting their own businesses at a faster clip than any other demographic in America, according to a recent report—and a less hospitable corporate world has a lot to do with it. Yet, the climate for budding entrepreneurs of color is also getting tougher. The share of venture-capital funding going to Black-owned businesses in 2025 was 0.3%, the lowest share in a decade, Crunchbase data show. Regina Lawless Toney left a six-figure job heading DEI efforts at Instagram in 2023 to start a consulting and coaching business for Black professional women. She says she didn’t even consider venture-capital funding for the business—named Bossy and Blissful—knowing how little goes to Black female founders. She has expanded into human-resources consulting, brought on coaching clients and does speaking engagements and workshops with companies. Yet the revenues and returns have been uneven.

300,000 Black women were laid off last year. The work didn’t disappear. The stability did. For generations, Black women have been the most adaptable labor force in this country. When systems shift, we’re the first let go, and the first to reconfigure our lives around the loss. Some move into entrepreneurship. Not as aspiration, but as necessity. Others build parallel economies: care work, creative labor, community services. Work that doesn’t show up in employment data, but keeps families functioning. When resilience becomes expected, loss becomes invisible. And when adaptation is constant, exhaustion gets mislabeled as strength. This is The IMPACT Opinion, where we examine the structure beneath the headline. Every Wednesday. Read the full analysis. Link in the comments.

The story appearing last week in the Wall Street Journal should get the attention of women of color everywhere. Because it says a great deal about entrepreneurship and why it is so important. Based on the WSJ data, corporate didn’t get less talented. It just got less willing to make room. So Black women did what entrepreneurs have always done when the system stops working: they are building their own. Today, Black women are starting businesses faster than any other demographic in America. Not because it’s easy. Not because funding suddenly appeared. In fact, venture capital going to Black founders has dropped to just 0.3%. But because the next wave of their business leaders isn’t waiting for a promotion. They’re building companies. Watch this space because Black career professionals in Corporate America are going to exit and become tomorrow's business owners. Extraordinary ones that will empower others to follow them. #entrepreneurs #entrepreneursorganization #onewereach

Fearlessly fighting against injustice also requires finding ways to find those impacted and providing them with competencies and tools to protect themselves. “Financial executive Jacqueline Campbell has launched the Wealth Management Accelerator (WMA), a program designed to help mid-career professionals transition into roles in the financial services industry. Campbell, founder of Alexander Legacy Private Wealth, said the idea emerged after seeing the scale of layoffs disproportionately affecting Black women—estimated at around 400,000. “When I saw so many brilliant Black women being displaced, I knew we couldn’t afford to lose that talent,” she said, per reporting by Black Business News. “These women already have leadership, discipline, and resilience. What they need is access to training, licensing, and the confidence to move from workforce survival to wealth creation.”

Black women today are starting their own businesses at a faster clip than any other demographic in America, according to a recent report—and a less hospitable corporate world has a lot to do with it. Many pandemic-era efforts to help Black women and other minority groups advance up the corporate ladder have fallen away as companies have retreated from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Some have dropped out of the workforce altogether. More of them are becoming entrepreneurs. My story profiles four women who took bets on themselves after years in corporate roles. The number of Black women-owned businesses rose about 13% last year, more than for any other racial group of men or women, according to a 2026 report by Wells Fargo and research and consulting firm Ventureneer. Yet, the climate for budding entrepreneurs of color is also getting tougher. The share of venture-capital funding going to Black-owned businesses in 2025 was 0.3%, the lowest share in a decade, Crunchbase data show. Erin Giddens, who decided to focus full time on her own video-production company last fall one year after a layoff, hasn’t sought outside investors, and says the challenges are worth it. “Building something I own may be riskier in the short term and requires real sacrifices, but it gives me more control over my long-term future.” This story was a journey. It started more than a year ago after conversations with James D. White. I'm grateful for all my interviewees and editors, notably Vanessa Fuhrmans, who hung in there with me to see it through. Many thanks to the women who gave me so much of their time to share their stories with me, including Regina Lawless Toney, MSOD, Charece Williams, Erin Giddens, Serene B. Hollingsworth and especially Dee Baker Amos.