EnrichHER founder and CEO Dr. Roshawnna Novellus has a lot to celebrate this Black Business Month.
Earlier this week, she was honored in New York City alongside several successful Black women entrepreneurs as part of Mastercard’s Strivers Initiative, a partnership with Fearless Fund designed to spotlight Black women-owned businesses as a vital part of our nation’s industries. The two-day celebration included a red carpet reception and concert at the Apollo Theater featuring Mastercard ambassador and Respect movie star Jennifer Hudson. Each Strivers honoree was gifted a custom 3D portrait by artist Tyler Clark.
Dr. Novellus was also featured in a high-profile Mastercard promotional spot that aired on national broadcast television and social media.
This recognition comes on the heels of some recent milestones for the EnrichHER brand. In May, after a two-year-long application process, the company became a Certified B Corporation™. B Corporations™ are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps™ use their business as a force for good and are highly regarded as agents of change.
Additionally, this summer, Dr. Novellus joined the ranks of the few Black women in business who have raised over $1M in venture capital funding. Last year, only 93 Black women reported having raised more than $1 million, up from 34 in 2018, according to a report titled ProjectDiane by Digitalundivided. Between 2009 and 2017, Black women received 0.0006% of tech venture capital investment. These grim numbers reveal just how difficult it is to navigate the financial world as a woman business owner, which is why Novellus founded EnrichHER — to make funding accessible to all, not just the wealthy.
“There are so many exciting developments taking place at EnrichHER right now,” says Novellus. “From the Mastercard Strivers Initiative and becoming a Certified B Corp™ to engaging businesses in our grants and accelerator programs to launching our new matchmaking platform EnrichHER nLove, it is truly humbling to see the progress we’re making in our mission to connect New Majority founders to funding. After a year like 2020, I am grateful to be leading a thriving business.”
