We at Platform88 are outraged and deeply saddened by the recent murders of innocent Black Americans. George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and countless others have died at the hands of institutionalized racism within the United States. Platform88 condemns the systemic bigotry and discrimination plaguing America. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and the Black Lives Matter movement. In addition, we have refocused our attention toward the disparity in representation of the Black community within our own industry.
Platform88 has been committed to supporting the growth of entrepreneurs and startups using our engineering, product development, manufacturing, and distribution resources. However, in our 15 years of experience in the consumer products industry, we have noticed a lack of diversity among the entrepreneurs with whom we work. Particularly, there is a disparity of Black-owned businesses. We are eager to use our resources and expertise to take steps towards larger changes within our industry, and listen to the needs of the Black community.
Platform88 will be offering seed funding, mentorship, and organizational resources to a Black-owned consumer product business to promote their growth throughout 2020 and 2021. Additionally, in order to foster longer term change, we are looking for partnership opportunities with organizations, accelerators, and incubators that work to empower minority-owned businesses and their founders.
It is everyone’s responsibility to make changes that break down institutional barriers and foster a more inclusive future. We want to do our part. For all businesses interested in this opportunity, please contact us for more details. For all of those within our network, we would appreciate it if you could pass this along to your networks.