The Center for Black Entrepreneurship
The Center for Black Entrepreneurship (CBE) is a partnership between the Black Economic Alliance Foundation, Spelman College, and Morehouse College. The CBE is the first-ever academic center of its kind to produce, train, and support a new class of Black entrepreneurial talent.
The mission of the CBE is to unlock Black entrepreneurial talent and empower it to transform our communities. Its vision is for Spelman and Morehouse, and by extension the Atlanta University Center, to serve as an economic development engine for the surrounding neighborhood by connecting talent, technology, and capital. Leveraging the strong culture of entrepreneurship at Spelman and Morehouse, the CBE will bridge the gap between the business and technology industries and the upcoming generation of Black entrepreneurs.
The launch of the CBE was powered by $10 million in anchor funding from Bank of America, to support the development of an academic curriculum, faculty recruitment, co-curricular programming, and an online certificate program. BEA Foundation, Spelman, and Morehouse are actively engaging with additional business and philanthropic partners who will support the program financially and substantively.
The CBE builds on the long history of innovative programming at Spelman and Morehouse, two of the highest ranking historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. In addition to the students of Spelman and Morehouse, CBE curriculum will be available to students from Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse School of Medicine; and online portable certificate programs will be available to students from any school and adult learners. The CBE will be located on the campuses of Spelman College and Morehouse College in Southwest Atlanta.
The CBE curriculum develops entrepreneurial mindset in our undergraduate students and adult learners, thereby equipping them with the tools they will need to succeed. This includes training on how to:
- Test ideas for viability,
- Manage risk through experimentation,
- Pivot business concepts,
- Scale innovations into sustainable products or services,
- and connect with potential investors and other sources of funding.
The CBE will also explore partnerships with Atlanta-based higher education programs, the broader HBCU community and schools that have prominent national models such as Babson College and Stanford University to provide co-curricular programming. As part of its holistic programming, the CBE will invite successful entrepreneurs and leaders from venture capital, private equity and other industries as guest lecturers and mentors, helping to create a stronger ecosystem among the investment community, emerging Black talent, and some of the most successful entrepreneurs in America.
