Operation HOPE — 1 Million Black Businesses (1MBB)
Operation HOPE (in partnership with Shopify and a coalition of corporate partners)
Free program + capital access
Researched for this program: 2 rejection traps · 2 required documentsWhat decides this award ↓
Build 1M Black businesses by 2030
1 Million Black Businesses (1MBB) is Operation HOPE's no-cost initiative to start, grow, and scale one million Black-owned businesses in the US by 2030, launched in 2020 with Shopify as a founding partner (a 10-year commitment valued at roughly $130 million). Participants — both aspiring and existing Black entrepreneurs — receive personalized coaching and entrepreneurship training from certified financial coaches via webinars and workshops, credit and money-management coaching, access to a coalition of accounting, legal, e-commerce, technology, and marketing professionals, free technology (including the Shopify e-commerce platform), and structured pathways to small-business capital. It is a training, coaching, and access program rather than a direct cash-grant program; the 'access to capital' component connects participants to loans and lenders rather than writing checks.
- Funding type
- Program
- Level
- Private
- Amount range
- Free program + capital access
- Realistic amount
- Participants realistically gain free coaching, free Shopify/partner technology, and a credit/loan-readiness pathway. Any actual capital comes via partner lenders the program connects you to (loan amounts vary widely by lender and credit profile), not as a grant from Operation HOPE.
- Deadline
- Rolling — enroll anytime
- Status
- active
- States
- Nationwide
- Payment model
- in-kind
Who qualifies
- Black entrepreneur — aspiring (idea-phase) or existing business owner
- Based in the United States
- No minimum revenue, time-in-business, or industry requirement
- No cost to participate (donor/partner-sponsored scholarships cover the program)
Hard requirements
- Reserved for minority owned businesses
How to apply
-
1
Create an Operation HOPE account
Register on the Operation HOPE portal (portal.operationhope.org) or connect through a local HOPE Inside location. Enrollment is free and open to aspiring and existing Black business owners.
~0.3 hrs
-
2
Get matched with a coach and program track
Work with a certified financial/business coach who assesses your stage and goals, then plugs you into entrepreneurship training, credit and money-management coaching, and the 1MBB resource coalition.
~1 hrs
-
3
Use the tools and capital pathway
Activate free technology (Shopify and partner products) and follow the loan-readiness pathway, which connects qualified participants to small-business lenders. Capital is obtained from lenders, not granted directly.
~4 hrs
Don't expect a check — 1MBB's leverage is the free Shopify stack plus a real loan-readiness pathway. Use the credit-coaching first: participants who fix their credit profile through HOPE's coaching convert to the partner loan pathway far more often than those who skip straight to asking for capital.
Deadline & timing
Enrollment is continuous and free via the Operation HOPE online portal or HOPE Inside locations. The initiative is committed through 2030, so it operates as an ongoing program rather than on grant cycles.
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