Mastercard (NYSE:MA) announced Tuesday a multi-million-dollar investment in Fearless Fund, a venture capital firm founded by Black women with the mission of investing in minority female entrepreneurs.
The exact amount was not disclosed.
The credit card giant also unveiled a partnership with Greenwood, a fintech firm aimed at Black and Latino consumers and business owners, to issue the platform’s first debit cards.
Fearless Fund looks to provide early financing to companies started by women of color in the technology, consumer packaged goods, food, fashion and beauty industries.
Other investors in Fearless Fund include PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Costco (NASDAQ:COST).
The three co-founders of Fearless Fund are chief development officer Keshia Knight-Pulliam, who played Rudy Huxtable on the "Cosby Show"; CEO Arian Simone, an entrepreneur and best-selling author; and COO Ayana Parsons, a veteran consultant.
Simone told the media the Mastercard investment has the potential to be a game changer for the companies in the fund’s portfolio.
"This deal also marks a major milestone for our brand," she said. "When women of color are provided with the necessary resources and funding to launch their businesses, the sky’s the limit."
Women of color are "notoriously underfunded," Simone said, adding that they don’t typically rely on big institutional investments when creating their business plans.
Black and Latino female founders have received less than 1% of venture capital funding, according to a 2020 report from Digital Undivided.
MA shares handed back $1.70 to $380.46.
