- New Voices + Target Accelerators $100,000 Virtual Pitch Competition Will Be Streamed Live on Friday, September 25th at EssenceStudios.com -

(Black PR Wire) NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As businesses across the United States continue to grapple with the impact of COVID-19, Black and Brown communities are being impacted at drastically disproportionate rates. In particular, the already fragile economic ecosystems of small businesses led by women color are furthered challenged as many of these companies are unable to access both private and public COVID-19 relief funding opportunities due to weak banking relationships and other factors.

With this virtual pitch competition, the New Voices Foundation and Target Accelerators continue to create opportunities for women of color entrepreneurs to secure the capital, access and expertise needed to grow and scale their businesses. The Foundation has previously held nine pitch competitions across the country since July 2018, providing more than $900,000 in non-dilutive capital and almost $500,000 of supportive services to the winners. Prior competitions have been held in New Orleans, LA; Washington, DC; New York, NY; Austin, TX; Atlanta, GA; and Las Vegas, NV at CES.

“We have long known about the unique challenges and systemic inequities that woman of color entrepreneurs and their businesses face and are committed to continuing to support their survival and growth during this pandemic and beyond,” said Richelyna Hall, Chief Impact Officer at the New Voices Foundation.

The September 25th New Voices + Target Accelerators $100,000 Virtual Pitch Competition will feature 10 women of color entrepreneurs pitching their businesses to receive critical funding combined with personalized coaching, mentoring and business skills development. The competition will be streamed live on ESSENCEStudios.com on Friday, September 25th, 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT.

“We are committed to using Target’s size, scale and resources to create positive change toward establishing racial equity. We are excited to support underrepresented founders through access to the knowledge we can share to help them grow their businesses and by partnering with organizations like New Voices to connect founders with the tools and resources to realize their goals,” said Carolyn Sakstrup, Senior Vice President, Insights, Strategy and Innovation, Target.

To view the New Voices + Target Accelerators $100K Pitch Competition or for more details, visit ESSENCEStudios.com.

ABOUT NEW VOICES FOUNDATION

The New Voices Foundation is a ground-breaking, community-building effort designed to create a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem for women of color. The Foundation empowers these entrepreneurs to achieve business success through leadership and skills development, access to capital, and networking opportunities, as well as other innovative leadership initiatives – at no cost to the entrepreneurs. Driven by its PACE (Purpose. Access. Capital. Expertise.) model, the New Voices Foundation invests in diverse programming – including entrepreneurial summits, accelerators, pitch competitions, coaching, master classes, and more – to advance the significant contributions of women of color entrepreneurs to our economy and society.

ABOUT TARGET ACCELERATORS

The premier accelerator for retail startups, Target Accelerators provides the boost entrepreneurs need to get ahead. Let's shape the future of retail together. For more information about all of the Target Accelerators programs, visit www.targetaccelerators.com

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