In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky recently revealed the upgrade on the No Politics button. He claimed that 200 people join LinkedIn every minute and 9,000 connections are made. LinkedIn, unlike other social media platforms, focuses on professional connections and economic potential for all users. The company today has unveiled a new $500,000 grant program for Black entrepreneurs as part of its overall Black History Month activities, which are intended to acknowledge and encourage Black communities to pursue work opportunities.
There has been an increase in Black entrepreneurs jumping into new projects recently, which may be ascribed in part to the pandemic and the development in remote and flexible work, which has allowed many potential entrepreneurs more capacity to explore their interests, as per their data.
With dedicated funds coming to both digitalundivided and Blavity.org to help speed their yearly Black entrepreneurship fellowship programs, LinkedIn hopes to give additional incentive and motivation for those efforts.
On 22 February, LinkedIn will host a Black Entrepreneurs Summit, including workshops led by LinkedIn staff and LinkedIn Learning instructors on a variety of topics.
- 8 am PT: The Rise of Black Entrepreneurship in the U.S. with Marissa Cazem, Seyi Kukoyi, and Melinda Emerson
- 9 am PT: Unlocking Community and Resources to Thrive with Chris Arceneaux, Guy Kawasaki, and Jay Clouse
- 12pm PT: Allyship in Action – Unconscious Bias with Trish Lindo and Stacey Gordon
The company is also making a number of LinkedIn Learning courses available.
LinkedIn launches a $500k Grant Program for Black History Month on 17 February 2022.
Implication for Marketers:
The courses would serve to provide additional educational information for business owners, which might have a substantial impact given that 26% of Black business owners claim they seek guidance from online forums like LinkedIn. The numerous projects will aid Black business owners in taking the following steps and may play a crucial role in helping them launch their venture. Following the historically inclined program, this opens new doors of opportunities and prioritizes Blacks in the field of entrepreneurship.
Reference: https://blog.linkedin.com/2022/february/15/advancing-equity-for-black-entrepreneurs
