SoftBank launches $100 mn fund investing in ‘people of colour’

SoftBank Group is launching a $100 million fund to invest in “companies led by founders and entrepreneurs of colour”, in the latest corporate action as protests roil the United States.

Described as SoftBank’s bid to improve diversity, “we have to put money behind it, set plans, and hold ourselves accountable,” SoftBank’s Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure, who will head the fund, wrote in a letter to employees on Wednesday.

Named the “Opportunity Growth Fund”, its total initial size is less than a typical single investment by the $100 billion Vision Fund, which is headed by Claure’s rival Rajeev Misra, and will focus on African Americans and Latinos in the U.S..