Avanade Commits $1 Million to Bolster Networks of BIPOC Entrepreneurs
Partnership with Prosperity Now designed to disrupt the current system that disproportionately marginalizes Black, Indigenous and People of Color to generate sustainable, long-term wealth in their communitiesSEATTLE—Sept 20, 2022
Avanade, the leading digital innovator on the Microsoft ecosystem, and Prosperity Now, a national racial economic justice organization dedicated to transforming our economy to work for everyone, today announced a partnership to help Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs. Avanade is committing $1 million (USD) to help build sustainable wealth in the communities of one million BIPOC entrepreneurs through a targeted and strategic expansion of their network and ecosystem of supporters.
Avanade CEO Pamela Maynard and Gary Cunningham, President and CEO of Prosperity Now, announced the new partnership and funding at Prosperity Now’s Prosperity Summit in Atlanta.
“Avanade is committed to forging partnerships that align with our purpose - to make a genuine human impact for our clients, our people and the communities in which we live and serve. Working with Prosperity Now is a natural fit and an important step in creating access in communities that have historically been at a disadvantage when it comes to economic and entrepreneurship opportunities,” said Maynard.
“A critical part of our strategy includes investing in bold ideas to impact the entire ecosystem.” said Cunningham. “BIPOC entrepreneurs need game-changing interventions, and Prosperity Now is looking forward to partnering with Avanade to help disrupt systemic barriers and open up pathways for BIPOC businesses and their communities to flourish.”
Through their partnership, Avanade and Prosperity Now will pursue their shared goal of supporting BIPOC entrepreneurs by:
- innovating in the Community Development Financial Institutions sector to enable more equitable lending decisions;
- holding an innovation challenge to encourage, test, and uplift groundbreaking ideas to change the ecosystem in which BIPOC entrepreneurs operate; and
- building a central hub to bring together resources to support entrepreneurs and the organizations that enable them to grow their businesses to scale.
Through its Tech for Social Good program, Avanade partners with the nonprofit Junior Achievement to create technology and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth and has supported students at universities around the world through its STEM Scholarship program. Following today’s launch of its partnership with Prosperity Now, Avanade hopes to expand the program’s impact to other parts of the world.
About Avanade
Avanade is the leading provider of innovative digital, cloud and advisory services, industry solutions and design-led experiences across the Microsoft ecosystem. Every day, our 59,000 professionals in 26 countries make a genuine human impact for our clients, their employees and their customers.
We have been recognized, together with our parent Accenture, as Microsoft’s Global SI Partner of the Year more than any other company. With the most Microsoft certifications (60,000+) and 18 (out of 18) Gold-level Microsoft competencies, we are uniquely positioned to help businesses grow and solve their toughest challenges.
We are a people first company, committed to providing an inclusive workplace where employees feel comfortable being their authentic selves. As a responsible business, we are building a sustainable world and helping young people from underrepresented communities fulfill their potential.
Majority owned by Accenture, Avanade was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation. Learn more at www.avanade.com.
About Prosperity Now
Since 1979, Prosperity Now (formerly CFED) has been a persistent voice championing economic opportunity, innovating outside of and beyond existing systems to build power for all communities. We advance racial and ethnic economic justice by investing in bold new ideas, and we work deeply at both the grassroots and national level to impact the entire ecosystem. By setting goals for our economy and following through with targeted approaches based on need, we are equipped to drive forward and cement big structural solutions. Learn more at www.prosperitynow.org.
