Stamford-headquartered Synchrony has pledged $15 million for venture capital funds led by Black, Hispanic and female investing partners.
The first funds allocation will be channeled to Chingona Ventures, Seae Ventures and Zeal Capital Partners in their respective efforts in supporting stage startups across the fintech, health care and future-of-work sectors.
In announcing its funding, Synchrony highlighted Crunchbase data that found only 3% of investment funding is received by female founders, a statistic that has not changed in a decade, while Black and Hispanic founders represent 2.4% of total venture capital raised since 2015.
Synchrony added the announcement was part of its broader effort to support minority-owned small businesses, which includes $5 million by the Synchrony Foundation to support funding of small business grants through community organizations and the company”™s 2020 pact with the National Venture Capital Association to encourage greater diversity in the venture ecosystem.
