ATLANTA - November 19, 2020 - The Fearless Fund, an Atlanta-based fund established to address the gap that exists in venture capital funding for women of color (WOC)-led businesses, recently received an investment from Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc. (AEMI), in partnership with Invest Atlanta. Founded in 2018, the Fearless Fund provides pre-seed and seed stage investments while also hosting pitch competitions with notable partners like Spanx and Facebook HQ.

“Our experience as women of color entrepreneurs allows us to deeply empathize with the journey of other women of color entrepreneurs,” said Arian Simone, Fearless Fund General Partner & Co-Founder. “Women of color should be able to pitch to people who look like them on the other side of the table.” 

Aligning with the Fearless Fund’s mission, AEMI strives to attract private investment to Atlanta’s underserved communities and financially support catalytic businesses and social impact-focused entrepreneurs that are growing and creating quality jobs. 

"This partnership between the Fearless Fund and AEMI is another pivotal step towards addressing the gap in funding for underrepresented and underserved entrepreneurs,” said Stephen McRae, President of AEMI. “Building and bolstering the bridge to accessible capital for these entrepreneurs here in Atlanta is another way we are creating equity and bringing new investment to Atlanta’s communities.”

AEMI’s investment supported a recent Fearless Fund investment to CapWay, a mobile banking and financial education app that aims to provide access and opportunities to those who have been underserved and overlooked by the traditional banking system. CapWay's founder Sheena Allen was inspired by her hometown of Terry, Miss., a community where many go without a bank account or access to financial institutions.

“There are so many gaps in our current financial system that make it difficult for people to get ahead -- income gaps, racial wealth gaps, information gaps, digital gaps, access gaps,” said Sheena Allen, founder of CapWay. “Our mission is to provide solutions to these problems, and we’re excited to further that mission with the support of the Fearless Fund, AEMI, and Invest Atlanta.”

Allen relocated the company to Atlanta in 2019 while still in stealth mode. Allen chose Atlanta after being impressed with the city’s growing fintech hub and the talent coming out of local universities, where she participated in Invest Atlanta’s 2019 Students2Startups program.

To learn more, watch the video interview here.

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Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc. (AEMI)

AEMI is a U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Entity created by Invest Atlanta in 2006 that specializes in providing gap financing for projects that create jobs and revitalize Atlanta’s distressed neighborhoods. In 2016, the AEMI board of directors approved the allocation of $100,000 to finance a pilot revolving loan fund for social entrepreneurship in Atlanta.

Fearless Fund

Fearless Fund invests in women of color led businesses seeking pre-seed, seed level or series A financing. Our mission is to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color founders building scalable, growth aggressive companies. Fearless Fund is built by women of color for women of color.