More than 625 Black-owned businesses have developed business relationships with the global corporate sector, thanks partly to the Fifteen Percent Pledge.

The initiative, born following the death of George Floyd in 2020 and launched by entrepreneur Aurora James, has created an avenue to potentially shift over $14 billion to Black business owners, according to Forbes.

And now, James has unveiled the Friends and Family Collective, which in partnership with the private equity firm VMG Partners, could tap into an $850-million VC fund focusing on founders of Black-owned businesses.

“It’s really about continuing to build on what we’ve already started and taking it to the next level,” James told Forbes. “There’s been so much progress made, but there’s still work to do — I never want to rest on our laurels. We’ve put more than 600 Black-owned brands on the shelves with Pledge takers, which is super exciting, but there’s still a lot more shelf space to be had. And even when we look at access to capital, less than one per cent of all VC dollars are going to Black women.”

Over 100 Black brands participated in the campaign, which was launched in November 2022 and generated an anticipated increase in revenue of over $1 million for Theophilio apparel, KNC Beauty, and Ghetto Gastro, among other Black brands.

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The Fifteen Percent Pledge is a racial and economic justice non-profit organization urging significant retailers and corporations to commit 15 per cent of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses.

Following multiple injustices and the killing of unarmed Black people in the U.S., James, the founder of Brother Vellies, a Black-owned lifestyle and accessories brand, called on corporations to support Black-owned businesses instead of paying lip service.

“I am asking you to commit to buying 15 per cent of your products from Black owned businesses... We represent 15 per cent of the population and we need to represent 15 per cent of your shelf space,” she wrote in a social media post.

Her messages landed on the airwaves of CNN and other news networks, and the call-to-action blossomed into an international movement.

To date, 29 companies across three countries have committed to multi-year contractual agreements, including Ulta, Sephora, Vogue, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Blue Mercury, Indigo, Gap Inc., Kith, Moda Operandi, Next Model Management, Hudson’s Bay, J. Crew, Matches Fashion, and Nordstrom, according to Forbes.

With the future in sight, by 2030, the Pledge hopes to drive $1.4 trillion of wealth generation by Black entrepreneurs and increase Black business representation by 14.6 per cent, its website reads.

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The Pledge also created the Business Equity Community (BEC) — an online platform to connect Pledge takers directly with Black entrepreneurs.

“We think about 29 retail partners and other strategic partners coming to the table to work with the Pledge and these 5,000 businesses — you really get the collective action movement of many stakeholders coming together,” Williams-Belfort, who recently joined the organization as executive director, told Forbes.

Another notable event from the previous year was its Holiday Campaign, which included the Pledge's first-ever physical pop-up shop in Soho, NYC, and a curated microsite created in partnership with Citi.

Additionally, it introduced Shop with Google's first-ever Achievement Award, which included a $200,000 grant given to a Black business owner. Approximately $295,000 was distributed from the Pledge to five Black brands.

“I received a grant when I was just starting out,” James told Forbes. “So I was over the moon that we could give our first-ever Achievement Award at our benefit this year. Knowing what I was able to do with the opportunity and access that I was given as a founder and as a human, I think about what we will do with all of these other women who are coming up and becoming super successful as a result of the Pledge, and their own incredibly hard work.

Today, James is also the vice chair of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

“Progress is happening. People are having tough but courageous conversations. That’s how we learn and how we grow as individuals — and we need to keep pushing our own growth,” James added.