Cisco Partners with BEA Foundation to Support Entrepreneurship at HBCUs

In partnership with the Black Economic Alliance Foundation (BEA Foundation), Cisco has committed $5 million in grants and technical services to fuel entrepreneurship at historically Black colleges and universities. The funding will advance the development of the Center for Black Entrepreneurship (CBE), an academic center devoted to growing the pipeline of Black entrepreneurial talent, and will support CBE programming at Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Clark Atlanta University.

The funding will be distributed as follows:

  • $3 million allotted evenly across endowed faculty positions for the expansion of current CBE programming at Spelman and Morehouse and the establishment of future CBE graduate-level programming at CAU;
  • More than $1 million in technology products and services for Spelman, Morehouse and CAU; and
  • $1 million toward the BEA Entrepreneurs Fund, an investment fund that provides capital to businesses founded and led by Black entrepreneurs. A portion of the grant funds will be earmarked for graduates of the CBE.

"The Center for Black Entrepreneurship and the BEA Entrepreneurs Fund are tangible solutions to advance work, wages, and wealth across the Black community," said Samantha Tweedy, president of the Black Economic Alliance Foundation, in a statement. "We're thankful to Cisco for their generous support and strategic partnership in advancing the vision of the CBE and investing in Black entrepreneurs who will multiply prosperity for our community and, in so doing, grow the American economy."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • cloud and circuit patterns with AI stamp

    Cloud Management Startup Launches Infrastructure Intelligence Tool

    A new AI-powered infrastructure intelligence tool from cloud management startup env0 aims to turn the fog of sprawling, enterprise-scale deployments into crisp, queryable insight, minus the spreadsheets, scripts, and late-night Slack threads.

  • human figures surrounded by precise arcs with book and gear icons

    Kennedy-King College Rolls Out Holistic Student Support Program

    Chicago's Kennedy-King College is expanding student support services through a collaboration between City Colleges of Chicago and One Million Degrees (OMD), a Chicago-based nonprofit serving low-income community college students.

  • college students in a classroom focus on a silver laptop, with a neural network diagram on the monitor in the background

    Report: 93% of Students Believe Gen AI Training Belongs in Degree Programs

    The vast majority of today's college students — 93% — believe generative AI training should be included in degree programs, according to a recent Coursera report. What's more, 86% of students consider gen AI the most crucial technical skill for career preparation, prioritizing it above in-demand skills such as data strategy and software development.

  • laptop and fish hook

    Security Firm Identifies Generative AI 'Vishing' Attack

    A new report from Ontinue's Cyber Defense Center has identified a complex, multi-stage cyber attack that leveraged social engineering, remote access tools, and signed binaries to infiltrate and persist within a target network.