Sage, a global finance, human resources and payroll software company, has just opened applications for a new mentorship and training program for 150 Black women entrepreneurs from any industry in Atlanta.
The program, Pathways to Success, will offer a year of hands-on support, and then three years of membership to The BOSS Network, a digital career development platform for women of color, and a program partner. Another partner is business financing company Swoop. Applications close on Feb. 5.
Sage launched the program during a time when diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are being targeted by certain conservative groups. Atlanta-based venture capital firm Fearless Fund is one of the first and most prominent targets of a renewed conservative push to dismantle affirmative action in corporate America. A lawsuit targeting a Fearless Fund grant program for women founders of color is pending in court.
Sage said in the face of these legal challenges, they always want to follow the law. But they also want to do the right thing and break down barriers.
“For us, it’s not necessarily about Black women specifically or any specific group, it really is about serving communities at large,” said Renee Mathewson, vice president of corporate affairs for Sage North America.
Atlanta is the North American headquarters for Sage, which is based in England. Sage established its presence in the city in 1999 after acquiring Peachtree Accounting. It has an office in Lawrenceville and will soon occupy two floors of the new building under construction at Ponce City Market.
Pathways to Success was born out of a report Sage released last fall that surveyed 40 Black businesswomen in metro Atlanta about their challenges and outlooks on their companies.
The report recommended tailored support at each stage of business, including catered mentorship, community development initiatives and improved financial access. Specifically, metro Atlanta businesses should be more intentional in providing resources to Black-women founders, the report said.
Now Sage will be providing some of those resources.
“Women entrepreneurs and the Black community is a very important community to make sure that we are leveling the [playing] field,” Aziz Benmalek, Sage’s North American president, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: Special
Credit: Special
In Atlanta, a new report found that women and minority founders aren’t equitably represented. From 2019 to 2022, Boston Consulting Group found 94% of Series A funding in Atlanta (typically the first investment capital a company raises after seed and angel investing) went to white founders, though the region is only 43% white.
Sage also opened applications this week for a new round of $10,000 grants for 25 Black women entrepreneurs from across the United States. Seven of those grants will go to Atlanta-based founders.
Last fall, the company also began helping train young people by partnering with Morehouse College’s computer science department on a series of lectures about what students will need to know to be successful in tech. Sage’s chief technology officer and chief risk officer have given lectures. Sage also plans to have four interns this summer from Morehouse.
“The goal is to grow the pie for tech students and tech graduates,” said Tracy Owens, Sage’s director of U.S. public affairs. “There’s no requirement they’ll come work for Sage, but the hope is they will.”
This year, Sage will also be working with the city’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, which is an incubator for female entrepreneurs. The company will provide software to the participating businessowners and will host discussions on business financing in partnership with Swoop.
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