PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) recently announced it will invest $50 million in eight early-stage, Black and Latinx-led venture capital funds, which are Chingona Ventures; Fearless Fund; Harlem Capital; Precursor Ventures; Slauson & Co.; VamosVentures; Zeal Capital Partners; and one additional fund.
According to PayPal, the investments are part of the payment platform’s mission to invest $530 million to support Black-owned businesses, along with strengthen underrepresented minority communities and fight for racial equity and economic equality.
“PayPal will work collaboratively with these early-stage funds and, in some cases, invest directly in businesses through PayPal Ventures, its venture capital arm. PayPal Ventures invests in series A through later funding rounds of startups in areas of strategic relevance to PayPal, including financial services, commerce enablement and payments infrastructure. PayPal will also begin offering a three-month fellowship to a Black or Latinx graduate student each semester, through which the PayPal Ventures team will provide coaching, training and mentoring.”
PayPal further revealed that in September, it awarded approximately $5 million in grants to 20 nonprofit community partners to support Black-owned businesses throughout the U.S. in their recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, the platform completed the distribution of $10 million in empowerment grants to Black-owned small businesses to help them stabilize and reopen during the pandemic.