By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, MIAMI, FL. Thurs. Dec. 9, 2021: A Caribbean women-led venture fund and incubator has launched in South Florida.
Sugarcane Ventures executives say they are eyeing $25 Million to start in order to invest in Caribbean women founders and creators in the US Diaspora.
Established by Caribbean women for Caribbean women, Sugarcane Ventures has been founded by Lory George, an entrepreneur with roots in Haiti and expansive experience in technology and digital start-ups.
George said in a statement that Sugarcane Ventures “seeks to fill a void currently existing across the globe by investing in the Caribbean Women Diaspora (while) recognizing the difficulty for this community to access resources and capital.”
In addition to George, the Sugarcane executive team includes Nailah Blackman, Trinidad & Tobago-born international recording soca artist, actress, entrepreneur, and granddaughter of Trinidad and Tobago’s legendary musical icon, Garfield/Ras Shorty I; Kahaso Kiti, advisor and Momager to MLB Atlanta Braves pitcher Touki Toussaint, and Kertia Marley, Global Warming Activist, Mompreneur, and President of Small Axe Talent & Artist Management.
“As a Caribbean woman artist, I am excited to drive an initiative focused on a Creator’s possibilities, not limitations. Sugarcane Ventures’ mission to fund Caribbean Women artists, creators, producers, and directors to foster sustainable artistic careers amplified on a world stage, reminds us that our greatest resource as artists is one another” shared the ever-passionate Blackman.
“We aim to democratize female wealth creation by investing in thought leaders and ideas that will create the global markets of the future across financial, intellectual, spiritual, human, emotional, and social sectors,” commented George. “Sugarcane is not merely focused on the dollar signs but also mentorship, connections, knowledge, and resources customized and contextualized for each founding team to succeed. We are solely committed to investing in this ambitious community of Diaspora Women founders and creators over the next decade.”
Sugarcane Ventures is supported by a collection of esteemed women who form the company’s Advisory Board: Author, Advocate, Model, Entrepreneur: Julie Mansfield Soimaud; International Business Maverick across Media, Radio, Television and former GM of the Bob Marley Group: Marie McMorris; Film Producer, Soca Artist Manager, General Manager of C15 Studios Limited, and Film TT Director: Lorraine O’Connor and Celebrity Photographer, Philanthropist, Motivational Speaker, Robin V.
The investment pool will provide seed and early-stage funding to build a portfolio of over 25 Caribbean women-owned companies and select creators across the US and Caribbean. Investments will range from $500K to $1.5 Million each ideated, tested, and launched via its incubator program for edification.
Armed with a tenacious spirit and the yearning to create a cataclysmic shift, George and the team at Sugarcane say they are determined to marry human-driven resources with an analytical data-driven platform harnessed to identify growth sectors, impactful companies, and creators with a high probability of success.
Initially, the core target was women entrepreneurs across the United States diaspora; however, Sugarcane will expand its reach and identify and vet scalable IP’s and Creators across the Caribbean Islands for participation and development in their US incubator program.
For more see sugarcaneventures.com.
