Cameka Smith, the award-winning entrepreneur and founder of The Boss Network, an online community of professional and entrepreneurial women, has announced the 35 awardees of the 2022 Sage Invest in Progress grants to support Black women entrepreneurs in their first five years of business. Each of them will receive $10K in funding and a year-long mentorship.
The Sage Invest in Progress grant is a three-year, $1.5 million commitment by Sage (via the Sage Foundation) to support the newly announced BOSS Impact Fund, which is focused on investing in Black women-led businesses and preparing entrepreneurs to build scalable, growth aggressive companies. The goal of the BOSS Impact Fund is to raise investment funding for 500+ black women entrepreneurs over the next three years.
Initially scoped to award 25 grants, the overwhelming response of more than 12,500 applicants nationwide encouraged Sage and The BOSS Network to expand the program with 10 additional grants in the Sage Invest in Progress program. These 35 awardees represent entrepreneurs from around the country and in various industries, including Beauty & Self-Care, Consumer Goods, Professional Services, Healthcare/Wellness, and Food and Beverage.
