TikTok Announces Funding to Support Black-Owned Businesses

TikTok, the video-sharing social app, has announced that they are now taking applications for its ‘Support Black Businesses’ program. This program aims to work with Black-owned small businesses to provide them with critical skills and resources to help them strengthen their business after the hit of the pandemic. 

“More than half of all Black-owned businesses saw their revenue drop during the pandemic compared to 37% of white-owned businesses” - TikTok explained.

The difference in revenue drop between Black-owned and white-owned businesses has also been proven by Facebook, showing that Black-owned businesses shut at twice the rate of white-owned businesses over the past year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Because of this, TikTok has been working to deliver more support, with their new Black Creatives program intended to find talent, and a new online hub where Black business owners can have access to the support and education needed to maximise sales. Alongside these, TikTok has also launched its Support Black Businesses funding initiative.

Vimeo is in partnership with the program which provides the next round of funding, and they will give the chosen applicants the resources they need to advertise to their full potential on digital channels, and subsequently drive sales.

“Participants in the program will benefit from $1000 in ad credits, roundtables with TikTok creators, and full access to Vimeo’s business tier tools to create, produce and share.”

The partnership is focusing on short video content with TikTok, and then longer elements with Vimeo, which benefits both the businesses and the apps. It could lead to future collaborations for small businesses and in the long run, would help TikTok compete better with Youtube, by providing more opportunities.

On top of the Vimeo partnership, TikTok is also partnering with Talent x Opportunity, which is an accelerator program that is set up to support and discover ‘cultural geniuses’ during their business journey. The partnership will involve TikTok’s executives to dedicate their time to helping the next generation of creatives and leaders, and will include access to marketing opportunities and exclusive training.

Given the initial statistic, these are important aims for TikTok, and all other social platforms to be frank, to push towards equal opportunities and creating a place where race doesn’t play a role in the potential of a business. 

Black-owned businesses who meet the criteria can apply for the next round of the program here, with finalists to be named in July. 

If you enjoyed this blog, we recommend you read our blog, ‘TikTok announces new initiatives for Pride Month’, or you can find all our other blogs here.