An Economy For All In February 2019, we published our report, An Economy for All: How Philanthropy Can Unlock Capital for Women Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs of Color through Inclusive Investing. In August 2021, the Arabella Advisors team gathered input from experts and practitioners working across the capital spectrum and developed an update to the original report. Click the button below to view the 2021 updates, or continue scrolling to view our original findings. View Latest Report
Systematic biases currently prevent entrepreneurs who are people of color and/or women from accessing capital
Only 2% of venture capital funding goes to women entrepreneurs, and less than 5% of entrepreneurs backed by venture capital firms are black or Latinx.
These biases hurt entrepreneurs and their communities.
The percentage of new jobs in the United States that were created by non-white business owners between 2007 and 2012.
From 2007 to 2015, women-owned businesses created more jobs than male-owned firms, despite the fact that there were significantly more of the latter.
They also mean investors are missing out.
Startup teams with women founders generate more revenue per dollar invested than those with all-male founders—on average 78 cents vs. 31 cents.
Companies with more diverse leadership teams generate more innovation revenue than less diverse companies.
Philanthropy can and should be doing more to create access to capital for these entrepreneurs, through #InclusiveInvesting and related tactics.
To close the gap between investors and entrepreneurs like Adrienne Bennett...
Earlier in her career, Adrienne Bennett became the first female licensed master plumber and plumbing contractor in North America. Now she is CEO of Benkari, LLC, a Detroit-headquartered contracting company that she launched, self-financed, and grew. Benkari is now generating jobs, apprenticeship opportunities, and potential for even more growth in Detroit and beyond.
Philanthropy should..
Put endowments to work through #InclusiveInvesting
Establish promising new financing vehicles
Engage peers to attract new donor partners and philanthropic capital
Work to transform the practices of mainstream investors and asset managers, who collectively control trillions in investment capital