Canadian Actors and brothers Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk; Free Rayshawn), Shamier Anderson (Wynonna Earp) and their youngest brother Sheldon James have launched a venture capital firm to help fund BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) entrepreneurs.
The trio named the company The Bay Mill Investments. The company will support and mentor young entrepreneurs in the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) community in building profitable businesses through its Bay Mills Diversity Fund. As of this publication, they have raised $15 million (CAD) of $25 million (CAD) in an initial round of funding in an effort to raise $100 million (CAD) to fund the diversity initiative by the end of June 2021. The company is currently seeking corporate sponsors and accredited investors.
Sheldon James will serve as Chief Executive Officer and General Partner. Melissa Allen, formerly of Google, will serve as Partner and Chief Operating Officer. The serial philanthropists previously launched The Black Academy, an organization dedicated to breaking down barriers of discrimination and combatting racism in Canadian arts.
Read more about their latest initiative at Deadline.com.
