06/15/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/15/2021 04:05
Amazon is launching the Black Business Accelerator(BBA) to help build sustainable equity and growth for Black-owned businesses. The initiative-which explicitly targets barriers to access, opportunity, and advancement created by systemic racism across America-was created in partnership with our Black Employee Network and a coalition of strategic partners.
The BBA aims to drive economic equity for Black entrepreneurs, providing them with resources to thrive as entrepreneurs and business leaders. We are inviting Black business owners to explore and participate in this initiative, which provides financial support, business education and mentorship, and marketing and promotion of their brands and products as third-party sellers in our store.
Black entrepreneurs have less access to capital, mentorship, and growth opportunities. They are also significantly underrepresented in retail. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 6% of U.S. retail businesses have a Black owner-even though Black Americans represent 14% of the U.S. adult population.
Black-owned businesses have also been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the U.S. House Small Business Committee. This is why we are committing $150 million over the next four years to help thousands of Black entrepreneurs reach hundreds of millions of customers and become successful sellers on Amazon. Third-party sellers on Amazon-almost all of whom are small and medium-sized businesses-represent nearly 60% of product sales in our store and saw record sales growth in 2020. We would like more Black-owned businesses to enjoy this success.
Amazon's BBA will provide access to financial assistance, strategic business guidance and mentorship, and marketing and promotional support to help both current and aspiring Black small business owners grow their businesses and maximize the opportunities of selling on Amazon.
We're proud to have strategic partners collaborate with us on this initiative, including the Minority Business Development Agency and the U.S. Black Chambers Inc. (USBC). These organizations will lead community engagement for BBA and help us provide participants with mentorship, business development, training, and educational resources to empower their success. Our partners will continue to advise us as we enhance BBA based on their deep experience in supporting Black businesses. They will also help us as we create similar programs for other underrepresented populations of business owners. We anticipate welcoming additional partners and advisors in the future.
Ron Busby Sr., president and CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers Inc., said, 'We applaud Amazon's leadership in responding to the racial inequities that led to a significant number of Black-owned businesses closing during the pandemic. The financial, educational, and mentoring resources Amazon will invest through the Black Business Accelerator will enable USBC-affiliated businesses and Black entrepreneurs to not only survive but thrive as they adapt to operating in a post-pandemic world.'
BBA and selling on Amazon unlocks a powerful and proven economic engine that enables entrepreneurs to build their brands and sell their products to our more than 300 million global customers. We know that customers value the wide selection and diversity of products offered by these businesses, and we are excited to see the offerings these new sellers will bring.
Over the last few months, we've piloted BBA's benefits with some of the Black-owned businesses already selling in our store to better understand how we can most effectively support them, and we have applied our learnings to further develop BBA and ensure it provides value. Here's what some pilot participants had to say about the program and selling on Amazon:
We are thrilled to embark on this journey to welcome many more Black business owners to the opportunities of selling on Amazon. We are optimistic about the potential to help them generate wealth for themselves, their employees, and their communities. To learn more about participating in the program, visit sell.amazon.com/bba.