​Road of Success to Black Female Leaders

My name is Zaye El-Bey is the CEO and currently the owner of El-Bey Marketing Inc which providing services in financial services, entrepreneurship development and contracting support to different customer preferably minority black people as they are marginalized historically and need more support and attention. 

I have been an entrepreneur for 17 years. My experience in business has been mainly around corporate finance and entrepreneurship. Im a native of New England and a military veteran/contractor. Im currently contracting with a few financial broker's assisting in providing finance to small and medium sized businesses. The reason for the grant is to expand my business, financial, and networking capabilities.

Majority of startup media platforms, conferences, incubators, accelerators and other venture programs lack diversity and cultural competency. Investors and firms are unable to support the early stage financing needs of black female due to high transaction costs and limited deal flow. Most diversity-focused groups and programs do not offer a pipeline to investment; rather they focus solely on networking and business remediation. Our project is aimed to provide awareness, promotion, support and resources for Black women led tech-based and tech-enabled financially sustainable startups. 

In an effort to increase diversity and inclusion within the global innovation ecosystem, we elevate and empower tech-enabled or tech-based ventures from financial planning and forecasting toward financial success and idea conception to business implementation and towards investment. Our project/business solution advances women from aspiration to investment.

Mostly women of color are often striving alone in industries and businesses dominated by men. As such, they are often talked down to, and have to constantly prove their worth and qualifications. 

Most black women entrepreneurs are facing a double bias due to both their race and gender. This in turn creates difficulties when it comes to obtaining funding, reaching out to network and potential partners. Networking events attended by very few women of color, if any, can also deter their them from making the right connections. It’s precisely the lack of access to these networks, as well as not having the right tools and resources to navigate them, that can prevent perfectly viable businesses from surviving.

Many research confirms that investors actually prefer entrepreneurial pitches by attractive men. Black Women entrepreneurs get offered smaller loans across every product, from the same groups. Another factor that slows growth: a lack of educational resources and mentors to help black women entrepreneurs ramp up their business knowledge is also a pressing factor which slow down the growth of black female entrepreneurs. 

To the solution end, our business project is aimed to work with Black Women Entrepreneurs through following ways.. 

• Since the black women looking for business investors should build confidence through a great team and business plan, therefore we envision to work with key champions among black women and improve their business ethics and ultimately to become strong founders. If they have experts on their founding team that can execute the business well, investors will have confidence in their business. 
• We envision for a black women to feel for themselves as "Be yourself, and have confidence in who you are". Therefore we will work on building the capacity of black entrepreneur, providing educational resources and mentorship to help black women entrepreneurs ramp up their business knowledge. 
• We will help these black women in finding the safety nets and best insurance support which can secure their financial assets and as well as give them confidence to maintain sustainability in investments and finances. 
• To get more female investors to support one another, we will help in building a network of female owned businesses and create enabling environment for black women to run their entrepreneurship initiatives. 

This business/project is intended to serve marginalized population especially targeting black women entrepreneurs inclusively  who are facing challenges in the way of their entrepreneurship journey . They have wonderful ideas and initiatives but lack access toward the investment and venture capitalist due to their minority status, gender biased and lack of confidence. This solution will help them first of all to develop their capacity to learn basic business and entrepreneurial ethics, provide them the relevant knowledge resources, link them to the safety nets to insure safety for their investments and financial assets, connect them to the network of interested venture capitalist and firms especially female owned businesses and ultimately help them to run successfully their business.  

This project is proposing to enable these black women to know the way, show the way and go the way toward business success and financial independence.

As earlier mentioned, most startup media platforms, conferences, incubators, accelerators and other venture programs lack diversity and cultural competency. Most diversity-focused groups and programs do not offer a pipeline to investment.

That is why, the highest affected are Black Female Founders. There is no full support for them to find the proper way to startup their initiative, find the relevant network and how they can secure and ensure safety to get financial sustainability. 

We are living in a world where diversity exists but some of the human are not treating each other based on racial differences, color, creed and minority statuses. Black female entrepreneurs are among those highly effected community. They have wonderful ideas and energy but unfortunately they are facing many barrier in the way and they dont get access to the resources as other majority does. 

We belong to same community. Myself and my team has witnessed many young leaders with wonderful ideas but poverty, lack of access to proper network, to investors, lack of education resources and guidance and lack of access to proper safety nets, they are unable to achieve what they envision for their future.

This is where we come in and want to give hands to our young bacl female leaders who are marginalized, through our expertise, our networking skills and seeking relevant funding opportunities to help and support them in their wonderful Endeavour.    

We consider every young leader is country's wonderful asset. We believe these young leaders have the potential to boost the country's economy and especially shoulder the country and the world especially in this COVID-19 crisis. 

We believe, no one should be left behind. Innovation and creativity is God Gifted and equally distributed in young leaders without discrimination by God. We human has now the responsibility to create inclusivity and let everyone access their share and resources equally. Therefore we are here to help those who are marginalized and left behind. In return these black women leader's success will automatically contribute to the humanity and the economy. 

As earlier mentioned, we are team of like minded person, mostly belong to same community and we as ourselves has passed through the same difficulties which nowadays black female leaders are facing therefore we knows, what are the problem and what can be the best possible solution. Therefore we consider well positioned toward this solution.

My own life story is a best example. From the start of my career, after completing the eduction, things looked very difficult. I faced many naysayers and also witnessed biased and sort of bullying too. But I found, either to focus on negative and live with it, or to ignore things and prove myself. I choose the later one.

Today I am happy I have enabled myself to bring like minded people with me in a team and now on the mission to help those marginalized people who are facing the challenges. We are afraid those young talent should not be wasted, if not supported on time. 

This project is the best example to showcase to prove my leadership ability. I believe leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. Exactly the same hurdles I have faced which nowadays the young leaders are facing, especially the young leaders. 

Since I have successfully passed through those hurdles and succeeded, therefore "I KNOW THE WAY AND GOES THE WAY" already. Now for last year I have struggled to get liked minded people in team with a mission "TO SHOWS THE WAY" to the young leaders toward successful entrepreneurship especially targeting marginalized black female leaders.   

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This Project is different and innovative. This project aims to increase exposure of black female founders and their ventures. Founders receive help with business creation and development via our programs, access to investors, insurance and safety of financial investments and more. We are intended to provide critical industry knowledge, mentorship, and business development tools to help fledgling startups succeed. Leaded by diverse team, we understand the cultural issues facing black women founders.

Goal/Impact: To create enabling environment where the rights of black female founders are protected and the can become innovative entrepreneurs to boost the contribute in serving the community and ultimately boosting the country's economy. 

Purpose/Outcome: To pave the way way for black female entrepreneurs to build their capacity, support them in finding the right networks, exploring investment opportunities and connect them to the relevant safety nets and insurance to secure their investments and finances. 

Results/Outputs

Black women are connected to the network of investment firms and venture capitalist to showcase their initiatives and find the investment. 

They have built their confidence through secured and insured their investments and financial assets and start their way toward financial sustainability. 

These black female entrepreneurs received the relevant trainings, education resources and awareness session to build their business development capacity and start up their initiative properly.

Currently we are advising and providing contracting services to less than 50 businesses and beneficiaries. We are planning is to increase to service 200 clients in first year and possibly 10,000 individuals in 5 years. 

Wee are targeting to provide service to 200 black female entrepreneurs. This will act as a pilot and with the time we will learn from our business service and will improve things for coming years. The reason it will increase in upcoming years is because our goal for five years is called "Butterfly Replication Approach" which means those black female leaders who are served and startup the successful work, they will become our brand ambassadors and volunteer to bring and serve more with us. We want to become a leading platform where not only the paid staff are serving but our strong volunteer network and alumnus will help and serve here with us in return. 

COVID-19 and some unrest due to recent ethnic conflict are among the upcoming burning barriers. Financing such initiative is a barriers since we have started this business on small investment. We have great ideas, initiatives and potentials but biggest barrier so far is funding this initiative. 

For financial challenge, we are optimistic to win this funding, prize and also have started grants and investment research to boost up the financial resources. To overcome pandemic and ethnic crisis, we are engaging digitally and bringing most of our services virtual. At the same time we have started advocating for peace a different platform and advocating for gender equality. 

We are partnered temporarily as well long term partnered with different forums, platforms and network. Youth Councils are also one of our key strategic partner. This is a platform where we explore most of the black female entrepreneurs. This also provide us volunteer support from youth. Many black minority supporting businesses are our strategic partner. They are sharing resources with which includes but not limited to an unlimited amount of resources to educate my team, my clients and provide expertise in different areas.

Our General Services

Our business model will offer a broad array of services i.e. contracting and advising.

Majority of of the Company's revenues will come from contracting, advising, consultancy and capacity building services especially for black minority. 

 Black Female Leader Entrepreneurship Platform (BFLEP)

BFLEP is a unique identity of our business. This is a platform and program service which is intended to provide support to young and marginalized black female leaders in their entrepreneurship journey. In longer term, we intend to fundraise for this initiatives from those successful entrepreneurs who become successful because of this platform. We will make small revenue from membership but intended to seed the investment from grants and prizes available.

Project Management team intends to build to reach $400,000 of revenue by the fifth year of operations.

Our current revenues stream are given above. while our upcoming and long term Revenue Stream

•  Income from Black Female Entrepreneurship hub Membership (upcoming)
• Income from successful Black Female Entrepreneur and Alumus of our platform through fundraising
• Contracting
• Grants and Private fundraising

The revenue streams mentioned above which will help us to raise average of 100,000 per annum and will pave the way toward our financial sustainability in future. 

We are only generating revenues from our own internal sources these days, but to run this solution we need extra investment and funding to run it and pave the sustainability path for this project. 

Now we are now seeking to raise external fund for this project. 

The expenditure is expected to be approximately 50,000 USD in payroll Bill's and miscellaneous expenses for about a year after my business completely launches which make total of 75,000 USD approximately. Since mentioned earlier, majority of these expenses will be covered through our internal revenue streams. 

Currently we seeking minimum of 10,000 USD and maximum possible of 400,000 USD for this solution and as well to help us work on our other solution and services. This application is our first attempt for seeking prize/grant funding for our initiative since until now we are based on our internal revenues. We are optimistic to win this prize and it will enable to us to make our dream come true to run this solution. 

I believe The Elevator prize (Solve) is the best and fit platform and prize to bring this solution because no other platform will understand better the issues of marginalized young and black female entrepreneurs, other than solve. The Elevator prize will enable us to seed this initiative project and enable to serve the black female leaders. 

As the 17th goal of SDGs promote partnership, therefore on this belief, we are intended to expand our partnership network where other partner, who have the same shared goals should come together, share resources and provide expertise we lack and as well provide financial support and assistance.

We would like to involve in partnership with MIT, organizations with same initiatives, CSR Forums, Entrepreneurs Networks and financial advising organizations.