The Fearless Fund has been investing in BIPOC businesses for years. Now they’re investing in the future of Black children.
The VC Firm founded by Arian Simone recently announced the news of their non-profit’s partnership with ProSeed Foundation to construct a school in Ivory Coast, West Africa.
The new elementary school, named the Arian Simone Fearless Leadership Academy, was spearheaded by The Fearless Foundation will open October 2022 for elementary-aged children living in the Dawa Grand Berebi Village to enroll.
ProSeed works in tandem local governments to identify underserved villages and construct sustainable education institutions. According to a news release, the organization has propelled students’ academic success rates on national exams go from 40 percent to almost 90 percent.
This is especially important since research shows that more than 50% of Black women in Côte d’Ivoire are uneducated, and 73.7% of women are illiterate. Conversely, only 36% of men receive no education, and 46.7% of men are illiterate.
The school is just the latest move The Fearless Foundation has made toward advancing financial equity, particularly in response to the damaging effects of the pandemic.
As their website pointed out, Black-owned businesses fell from 1.1 million in February to 640,000 in April, indicating a 41% downturn compared to an overall decline of 35%.
The fund’s Fearless Foundation has spearheaded various grant programs aimed at supporting BIPOC entrepreneurs, including the Mastercard Impact Program whereby more than $200,000 in business grants were allocated to women of color founders for COVID relief.