Queen Latifah, who’s a famous rapper, and Richelieu Dennis, the Essence Venture CEO have announced an upcoming partnership. They broke the news at the Essence Festival held recently. Richelieu Dennis is the founder of Shea Moisture, and he has pledged to invest $20 million to empower Black creators and makers.
The first beneficiary of the fund will be Queen Latifah. The money will be used to support her Flavor Unit Entertainment company, a movie production company. Dennis believes that the money will help people from the Black community own their content and not just work as hired talent.
Queen Latifah has hailed the move, postulating how securing decent funding for any venture in America is an uphill task. The rapper explained that she has always wanted to expand her venture and develop ideas, but she has always struggled to get capital. She applauded Dennis and explained how the money would keep things running in an entrepreneurial discussion that also featured Beatrice Feliu Espada, the founder of the Honey Pot Company, and Melissa Butler, the Lip Bar CEO.
Dennis Is Reinvesting in Black Enterprises
Rich Dennis has always been at the forefront of supporting Black businesses and enterprises. Supporting Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit Entertainment is one of the many ways he gives back to the black community. He declared that he would deploy a staggering $100 million to support businesses owned and run by women of color.
Dennis believes backing up women is a good way to achieve his goals. His undertaking was fueled by the need to help the society achieve economic inclusion. In a men-dominated business world, supporting the women folk is a great way to bolster economic inclusion.
By investing in Queen Latifah, Dennis believes he can nurture many talents possessed by people of color that would otherwise go to waste. The $20 million boost is just the tip of the iceberg compared to the amount of money he wishes to pump into various enterprises.
Richelieu Dennis is ready to use his hard-earned money to put Venture in the spotlight. And with Queen Latifah’s connections and hard work, the partnership between the two individuals is expected to be mutually beneficial. For the last six months, Dennis has pumped over $30 million to support and empower black businesses.
During the opening press that he issued at this year’s Essence Festival, he said that his greatest goal was to empower black businesses so that they flourish. He pointed out that whenever you buy Shea Moisture products, the move does not only grow the brand but also helps you give back to society. Dennis implored the public to continue buying the company’s products to help minority creators and makers. He vowed that his move to fund Queen Latifah was just the beginning of many good things to come.
