Dwyane Wade, Rosario Dawson, Ayesha Curry, and Earn Your Leisure Partner with Square to Launch Forward

Today, Square announced the launch of Forward, a business accelerator program designed to help Black and Latino retail entrepreneurs obtain the capital, coaching, and products they need to succeed.

Business owners of color are leading America’s entrepreneurship boom. More than 5 million new business applications were filed in 2022, and Black and Latino Americans are opening more businesses than any other group. Despite these successes, Black and Latino business owners still face systemic barriers to achieving long-term success, which result in higher closure rates. According to a recent Square report, the most common challenges faced by Hispanic businesses is raising capital.

To provide more access to resources and address these barriers, Forward will support 25 early-stage businesses who will be awarded $20,000 in funding along with exclusive access to trainings developed in partnership with 1863 Ventures, a recognized leader in providing culturally competent business curricula. The training topics will range from leadership and customer development to scaling operations and managing financial growth.

Members of the inaugural cohort will receive Square checking and savings accounts, Square hardware, attend intimate mentor masterclasses and work on an individual level with coaches to discuss their unique business needs. Program mentors include actress, activist, designer, and businesswoman Rosario Dawson, bestselling author and CEO of Sweet July Ayesha Curry, financial advisors and podcasters Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings of Earn Your Leisure, and NBA Champion, entrepreneur and Social Change Fund United (SCFU) co-founder Dwyane Wade.

“We launched the Social Change Fund United with the goal of creating a more fair and equitable society in part through economic investment and efforts to support minority-owned businesses,” said NBA Champion, entrepreneur and SCFU co-founder Dwyane Wade. “By partnering with Square today to launch Forward, we’re meeting those goals and helping to ensure that entrepreneurs of color have the opportunity to make their business ideas come to life in a lasting way. As a business owner myself, I understand how critical it is to have the right tools and mentorship when getting started.”