ImpactAlpha, Oct. 28 – The online payments company is injecting $50 million into eight early-stage venture funds run by Black and Latino managers to support “investment in Black and Latinx entrepreneurs at the earliest stages,” PayPal’s Dan Schulman said in announcing the news.
The funds include Chingona Ventures, Fearless Fund, Harlem Capital, Precursor Ventures, Slauson & Co., VamosVentures, Zeal Capital Partners and one unnamed fund. PayPal said it may selectively co-invest alongside the funds via PayPal Ventures, its venture arm.
“PayPal recognizes that our lived experience allows us to deeply empathize with the journey of other women of color entrepreneurs,” said Arian Simone of Fearless Fund, which scored its first institutional funding earlier this week from the Local Initiatives Support Corp.
LISC bets on Fearless Fund with $750,000 investment in first-time fund managers
The investment is part of a $530 million commitment by PayPal to support Black-owned businesses and minority communities, including a $50 million deposit in Optus Bank, a Black-owned bank based in South Carolina.
PayPal is among a wave of tech and consumer companies directing small slices of balance-sheet capital or making grants to minority-led financial institutions and fund managers.
Agents of Impact: Mobilizers of corporate cash for community impact
Fund watch: Get up to speed on Harlem Capital, Fearless Fund, and Chingona’s Samara Hernandez with ImpactAlpha’s coverage.
