Jay-Z Launches $10 Million Fund to Invest
in Minority-Owned Cannabis Startups.
Jay-Z has launched a startup fund that will encourage
more Black participation in the cannabis industry.
In a conversation with ‘The Wall Street
Journal,’ Jay-Z said he wanted to “do
[his] part” and help in a “real, concrete way.” .
We were the ones most negatively
affected by the war on drugs, and
America has turned around and created
a business from it that’s worth billions, Jay-Z, to ‘The Wall Street Journal’.
The Social Equity Ventures fund is the
result of the merging of two California-based pot firms:
Left Coast Ventures and CMG Partners.
The merged company, dubbed The Parent Company,
will start the fund off with an initial $10 million.
From there, at least 2 percent of
The Parent Company’s net income
will be contributed annually.
That money will go toward “diversifying” the cannabis
industry’s “business leadership and workforce.” .
... To invest in minority-owned and
Black-owned cannabis businesses
and contribute to the effort to rectify
the wrongs of prohibition … , The Parent Company, via statement.
The Social Equity Ventures fund will also
support “organizations and programs” that work
toward diversifying the cannabis industry. .
The fund will also support organizations
and programs focused on diversifying
the cannabis workforce through job fairs
and placement, industry training and
education, as well as Social Equity
application support, The Parent Company, via statement.
$1 million will be invested in
each of the startups it chooses to back.