Black Ambition Prize – 2022

Black Ambition seeks to fund bold ideas and reduce barriers to capital for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. The Black Ambition Prize is a tiered opportunity for early-stage Black and Latinx founders to compete for more than $2,000,000 and learn with a network of talented founders and cross-sector business leaders.

Through two separate Prize tracks, the Black Ambition Prize competition provides a platform for Black and Latinx founders across the nation and students and recent alumni of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to access growth capital, pitch feedback, and mentorship. Eligible applicants consist of Black and Latinx innovators building early-stage ventures across five distinct categories:

• Consumer Products and Services
• Healthcare
• Media and Entertainment
• Technology
• Web 3.0

The Black Ambition Prize has a minimum of 2 members per team (based in the U.S.), with no maximum team size (though only 3 team members will be able to upload their information to the application).

Eligible ventures will compete for awards between $25,000 to $1,000,000. Multiple semifinalists will be selected, with one grand prize winner receiving $1,000,000.

Depending on circumstances, the funding will consist of cash awards and, in some instances, investments. What Black Ambition earns from such investments will in turn be used to support its charitable activities. Visit our website for more information on eligibility and Prize details.

Join the webinars below to learn more about the Black Ambition Prize and eligibility criteria.

Eligibility criteria

The Black Ambition Prizes provides support to Black and LatinX founders across two Prize Tracks – An HBCU Prize Track and a Black Ambition Prize Track. The Prize Competition is open to early-stage ventures that:

• Are for-profit ventures (i.e., non-profits are not eligible) in the fields of consumer products and services, healthcare, media and entertainment, technology, and/or web 3.0.
• Are already, or intend to be, legally incorporated in the U.S.
• Have demonstrated progress against a business concept as illustrated by a minimum viable product and/or existing consumer base.
• Have raised less than $1M in dilutive funding at the time of applying for the award.
• All founding team members must be at least eighteen (18) years of age and above the legal age of majority in their jurisdiction of legal residence as of the date of entry.
• Eligible teams must include at least one founding member that identifies as Black/African/African American and/or Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx. A founding member is a team member having the title of CEO, Vice President or other C-level role (e.g., the CEO or an executive-level direct report to the CEO).
• Each team must have a minimum of two team members (based in the U.S.). A team member is defined as an individual playing a critical role in the venture (e.g., employee, essential contracted support) with responsibilities for specific work streams or deliverables for the venture.
• The lead of the venture (defined as the CEO or President, or most senior role on the founding team) must be a legal United States resident.
• HBCU ONLY: Eligible teams must have at least one founding team member who is an HBCU-affiliated individual (a current student, a recent alum within two years of graduating, or a former student within two years of attending the institution) that identifies as Black / African / African American and/or Hispanic / Latina / Latino / Latinx.

Additional eligibility criteria by Prize track can be found here:

• Black Ambition Prize Eligibility
• Black Ambition HBCU Prize Eligibility

Program timeline

The application will be open for two months. Selected semifinalists will then participate in a mentorship cohort refining their application and advancing their business. Grand prize winners will be announced at the Black Ambition Demo Day. Our unique Black Ambition Prize process at a glance.

• Applications Open – 03/07/2022
• Application Development Workshop, Black Ambition Prize – 03/22/2022
• Application Development Workshop, HBCU Prize – 03/24/2022
• Applications Close – 05/01/2022
• Semi-finalists announced + mentorship cohorts begin – June 2022
• Finalists announced – August 2022
• Public Voting Begins – August 2022
• National Demo Day – September 2022

Info session webinars

• March 22, 2022 | 12pm PST | Black Ambition Prize Webinar: This workshop will provide an overview of the 2022 Black Ambition Prize competition and curated support services as well as answer questions from prospective applicants in the Black Ambition Prize track about the application process and eligibility criteria. This discussion will be recorded and posted on the Black Ambition website. Register Here
• March 24, 2022 | 12pm PST | Black Ambition HBCU Prize Webinar: This workshop will provide an overview of the 2022 Black Ambition HBCU Prize competition and curated support services as well as answer questions from prospective applicants in the Black HBCU Prize track about the application process and eligibility criteria. This discussion will be recorded and posted on the Black Ambition website. Register Here