# @pmi_org on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq0kL7zPz7a
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/5439763-pmi-org-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/b6e1b84a78.jpg
- **Posted:** 2023-04-09T16:00:48.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** PMI (@pmi_org) — https://gondola.cc/pmi_org

## Caption

Private asset management firm Ariel Alternatives launched its Project Black with a clear mission: to help close the racial wealth gap in the U.S. by building up minority-owned businesses so they can sell to large companies.
 
“We have the ability to break today’s mental models which relegate minority-owned businesses to a second-tier status because they lack scale,” says Mellody Hobson, co-founder of Ariel Alternatives and co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments.
 
Project Black is “simultaneously solving for two critical factors: capital and customers,” she says—providing a powerful roadmap for Black and Latinx business owners. And the need is real: 95% of minority-owned enterprises report less than US$5 million in revenues. Further, minority-owned suppliers receive an average of just 2% of the corporate spend of the Fortune 500.
 
So Ariel is bringing in the heavy hitters, with companies like salesforce, walmart, and jpmorgan each committing at least US$100 million over a seven-year period to support established companies in sectors ranging from healthcare to technology.
 
“Through our ownership and ongoing counsel, we believe these companies can become scalable platforms with long-term growth potential,” Hobson says.
 
The potential impact: Up to US$10 billion in spending with Black and Latinx suppliers—and nearly 100,000 new jobs for underrepresented minority employees. “We are scaling change,” Hobson says.
 
#MakeReality #ProjectManagement #ProjectManager #PrivateEquity #WorkforceDevelopment #Fortune500 #jobs #DiversityMonth #inclusion #changemakers #inclusion #DEI #finance #WealthGap #SocialImpact arielinvestments #technology #investing #ProblemSolving #InvestmentStrategies

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- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 56
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## Tags

projectmanagement, dei, changemakers, inclusion, fortune500, problemsolving, wealthgap, projectmanager, socialimpact, investing, investmentstrategies, finance, privateequity, workforcedevelopment, jobs, makereality, technology, diversitymonth

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