Mellody Hobson is one of the biggest power players in business and she’s paying it forward in a huge way.
While serving as the Co-CEO & President of asset management firm Ariel Investments, she reportedly launched the firm’s equity initiative last month, Ariel Alternatives, LLC and the subsequent closing of Project Black, LP. To date Project Black will leverage $1.45 billion in commitments.
“We are scaling change,” Hobson said in statement. “In so doing, we will redefine what it means to be a minority-owned business in the United States. We are grateful to our investors who share our mission.”
The Fund is described as an investment vehicle for middle-market companies that may not currently be minority-owned, as well as existing Black- or Latino/a-owned businesses, with $100 million to $1 billion in revenue.
“We chose to partner with large institutions that are seeking to drive widespread corporate vendor diversity,” said Leslie A. Brun, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO of Ariel Alternatives in a statement. “Our goal is to help close the racial wealth gap by creating minority-owned businesses of scale through access to both capital and customers.”
Under the Fund’s ownership, these companies are expected to be transformed into certified minority business enterprises of scale that can serve as Tier 1 suppliers1 to the Fortune 500.
According to a news release, each investor (which includes Walmart, Salesforce, and Lowe’s among others) has committed $100-$200 million over the fund’s nominal seven-year investment period.