As the year ended up for 2022, and during our 30th anniversary HOPE Global Forum December, 2022, the Operation HOPE family and 1MBB (One Million New Black Business Initiative) leadership team were super proud to announce a benchmark achievement, 2 years into the 1MBB partnership: 155,000 new Black Businesses have been stood up and supported since launch!
In a world where there are only a little more than 3 million black businesses in the nation in total, adding more than 150,000 (or about 5% of the total) is a big deal. And we have only just begun.
A special thank you to our partner Shopify, who made a $130 million, 10 year commitment to support 1MBB back in 2020, in the aftermath of George Floyd. And other large companies, including a major commitment from Truist (Bank) for $20 million, followed.
Operation HOPE also signed a comprehensive leadership agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, and SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman, towards the end of 2022, which directly supported special initiatives such as 1MBB and Financial Literacy for All (FL4ALL).
This comprehensive article from Black Enterprise Magazine spells out the details best, but we are on the move.
A special thank you to Lance Triggs, our president for all HOPE Programs, who leads this important initiative for me and us, along with backup support provided by Joann Lewis Massey.
Follow Operation HOPE and 1MBB for more information and updates. And if you aspire to be in business yourself, sign up at 1MBB today. all you have to invest is your time.
John Hope Bryant, founder, Operation HOPE