Supporting Black Women Entrepreneurs at Progress Center

Why was the B.R.I.D.G.E Program created? Did you know that Black Women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States? Despite this impressive growth, they still face significant barriers to success. For instance, Black Women receive only a fraction of the venture capital funding allocated to their white counterparts, often due to systemic biases and limited networking opportunities. These disparities in funding and support can hinder their ability to scale their businesses and thrive. The B.R.I.D.G.E Program aims to tackle these issues by fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem that empowers Black Women and promotes equity in business growth. The B.R.I.D.G.E (B.uilding R.esources, I.nspiring D.evelopment, G.uidance, and E.mpowerment) Program was established to address the unique challenges faced by underrepresented entrepreneurs, particularly Black Women. Its primary goals are to provide access to resources, mentorship, and funding opportunities that can help level the playing field in the business world. We look forward to engaging with you!

Why was the B.R.I.D.G.E Program created? Did you know that Black Women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States? Despite this impressive growth, they still face significant barriers to success. For instance, Black Women receive only a fraction of the venture capital funding allocated to their white counterparts, often due to systemic biases and limited networking opportunities. These disparities in funding and support can hinder their ability to scale their businesses and thrive. The B.R.I.D.G.E Program aims to tackle these issues by fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem that empowers Black Women and promotes equity in business growth. The B.R.I.D.G.E (B.uilding R.esources, I.nspiring D.evelopment, G.uidance, and E.mpowerment) Program was established to address the unique challenges faced by underrepresented entrepreneurs, particularly Black Women. Its primary goals are to provide access to resources, mentorship, and funding opportunities that can help level the playing field in the business world. We look forward to engaging with you!

📌 Black women are being pushed out of the labor force at historic rates, 300,000 this year alone. That’s not just a labor market disruption; it’s an economic crisis. At the same time, these exits are fueling a surge in Black women’s entrepreneurship. It’s a powerful act of resilience and reinvention—an effort to transform systemic inequities into opportunity, leadership, and legacy. But let’s be clear: entrepreneurship should be a choice, not a last resort when traditional employment closes its doors. If these ventures are to redefine wealth and stability, they must be met with access to creativity, capital, and visibility. Thank you to Essence and Shanel Evans for amplifying this story. Coverage like this ensures Black women’s economic leadership is not erased, but recognized as central to our future prosperity. Equity isn’t charity. It’s an economic imperative. Read the full story at www.essence.com

Over the past few months, the data has been sobering. According to Harvard Business Review and JPMorgan, Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in North America. We have been driving innovation, holding up our communities, and building businesses at higher rates than almost any other demographic. I know this, because these are the women participating in my neuroscience PhD. And yet, Forbes, WABE, and The 19th are reporting that more than 300,000 Black women have lost their jobs in recent months. That’s not a typo. Three Hundred. Thousand. I know many here in Canada who have already been impacted. Some commentators are calling this a “red herring,” a “canary in the coal mine”: a warning sign of what’s to come for others in the workforce. But let me be clear: Black women are not the canary. We have always been on the frontlines of equity programs, policy reforms, and social movements, yet rarely the benefactors of those hard-won gains. To frame this crisis as simply a warning for others erases our reality and centres everyone but us. In my PhD research, I study the cognitive dissonance Black women face in corporate and institutional spaces: the contortions we are forced into, the misalignments between our values and the environments we navigate. For many, entrepreneurship becomes the path back to cognitive consistency, to liberation, and to self-authorship. These are not abstract theories, they are lived experiences echoed in stories across North America. So what does this moment mean? It is not a signal for others to brace for impact. It is a signal to ourselves. * A signal to rise together. * To support each other in ways that are intentional and sustaining — not just performative “soft life” snapshots, but real investments in thriving. * To collaborate, to share resources, to celebrate each other’s wins like they are our own. * To create spaces of joy, play, and liberation alongside the joy of thriving. Because the truth is this: nobody is coming to save us but us. And that is not a deficit, it is our greatest power. ➡️ My call to action: let’s stop allowing ourselves to be cast as warnings for others. Let’s build ecosystems of thriving for ourselves in business, in community, and in joy. Because we are not the canary. We are the fire. 🔥 Citations / Sources: https://lnkd.in/gdXunspD https://lnkd.in/g3xqXYDw https://lnkd.in/ge5EvidS https://lnkd.in/gBTUh_3n https://lnkd.in/gjZ3senq

At The Awakened Leadership Institute, we know that leadership begins where resilience meets truth. This message from Celina Caesar-Chavannes, PhD (candidate), MBA, ICD.D, speaks directly to that truth: Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in North America (Harvard Business Review, JPMorgan). And yet, in just the past few months, more than 300,000 Black women have lost their jobs (Forbes, WABE, The 19th). Too often, this reality is framed as a “warning sign” for others. But as Celina reminds us , Black women are not the canary in the coal mine. We are the fire. At TALI, our mission is to awaken leadership that is rooted in neuroscience, lived experience, and collective liberation. This moment calls us to deepen that commitment: * To build spaces where women can thrive, not just survive. * To move beyond performative inclusion into real, intentional support. * To centre play, joy, and collaboration as acts of resistance and leadership. This is not about waiting for systems to shift in our favour. It is about building ecosystems of thriving. Together. We invite our community and partners to reflect: ➡️ How will you support not just the work, but the joy of Black women leaders and entrepreneurs in your circles? ➡️ What will you do to ensure we are not signals for others, but signals for ourselves? Because awakening leadership isn’t about waiting for permission. It’s about embodying the fire , and igniting it in others. #AwakenedLeadership #BlackWomenLead #WeAreTheFire #LeadershipDevelopment #Liberation #CollectiveJoy

𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕, 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. Studies show that 78% of Black women entrepreneurs see mentorship and peer networks as the most critical factor in their success especially for young mothers balancing business and family. When we mentor, share resources, and uplift one another, we’re not just building businesses—we’re building legacies.

Navigating Barriers as a Black Woman Entrepreneur I recently had an encounter with a white male at an institution. I won’t call it out—yet—in hopes that this was an individual’s behaviour and not an institutional problem. But here’s the reality many Black entrepreneurs, especially women, face: We are often not taken seriously. Our ideas are dismissed. Opportunities are quietly blocked, as if they belong to others by default. And it doesn’t just come down to gender or race—it’s about gatekeeping potential. Yet here’s what I know: 🌱 As an entrepreneur, you must push forward. Some people will be afraid of your energy, your vision, your brilliance. That’s not your problem—keep going. 🌱 Don’t let discouragement take root. You are enough, even with mistakes. Mistakes are not failures—they are part of growth. 🌱 Anyone who truly supports you will walk with you through the shortcomings, not dismiss you for them. After all, we all make mistakes. Mistakes have no race, no gender, no ethnicity. We are One. And to my fellow Black women: You belong just as much as anyone else. 💪🏾 Never forget it. #WomenInBusiness #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #BlackExcellence #Oneness

Research from Faculty Research Fellow ALICIA SHEARES digs into the stories of Black women tech entrepreneurs, finding distinct barriers they must overcome to find funding success. From deflecting comments about their appearance to discerning the true motives behind a dinner meeting to being overlooked as a company's CEO, many of these obstacles don't affect Black men or white women in the same ways. https://buff.ly/12WpuNW

The workplace has always failed Black women. Over a year ago Brennan Nevada Inc. wrote about this persistent issue for Built In. I spoke with several successful Black women about how they have thrived in the face of adversity at work, and how they took back control of their professional lives. The one thing each of these women have in common? They all are founders, which should tell you something. For the 300k plus Black women who are incredibly overqualified and out of their jobs due to systemic racism, hopefully this advice can help you in your own career journey. I’ve been in your shoes before many times. It’s time 🕰️ to take back your power. Stop giving all your talents to a toxic employer who not only is a nightmare but isn’t paying you what you’re worth. I believe that entrepreneurship is the only path forward for Black talent to go to the next level. Invest in yourself, your skills, dreams, and just watch it all takeoff 🚀 🔗 to article 🗞️ 📰 👇🏾 #Blacktalent #workplace #DEI #racism #unemployed #work #jobloss #entrepreneur #thoughtleader https://lnkd.in/e_5YPq2n

This year, more than 300,000 Black women have been laid off or pushed out of the U.S. workforce. As Forbes recently reported, the majority were in their prime earning years, with industries like government, tech, healthcare, and education hit hardest. Behind the numbers are women navigating layoffs with determination — sharpening skills, leaning on networks, and finding new ways forward. At the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute, our research shows what happens next. Many Black women are turning to entrepreneurship as a path to stability and leadership. But barriers remain: despite being the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, Black women receive less than 0.5% of venture capital funding nationwide. In our latest blog, we explore how inequities and underinvestment collide with resilience — and why systemic change is essential. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gX_awkF5 #Equity #BlackWomenAtWork #Entrepreneurship #WorkforceEquity #CABWCEI