Although digital experiences were commonplace before, the pandemic further emphasized the need for businesses of all sizes to offer digital solutions, not just to meet shifting consumer demand, but to stay afloat. At Visa, we believe small business success is key to economic recovery. And when the pandemic hit, they needed help fast.

Small business owners continue to tell us that access to technology is critical to expand their business beyond the shadow of the pandemic. Visa is committed to engaging with small businesses across the country – in their local communities – to equip them with technology, forge connections with fellow entrepreneurs and influential leaders, and provide educational resources to drive business growth.

As Visa’s She’s Next program enters its third year, we are laser-focused on supporting those who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, including women and Black entrepreneurs. Partnering with Washington D.C.-based Black Girl Ventures, we are kicking off our hyper-local program to revitalize these communities in the six cities in the U.S. with the highest concentration of Black-owned businesses¹, — and our first stop is Washington, D.C.

In our research, Black women businesses owners in Washington, D.C., told us that additional resources would help them invest more in technology (35%), new products and services (31%) or advertising and marketing (29%)². To help meet those needs, our Washington, D.C., launch includes the first U.S. pilot of our Tap to Phone solution, which turns Android phones into point-of-sale acceptance devices, enabling sellers to enter the digital economy with the simplicity of downloading an app. We’ve seen great success in other parts of the world lighting up phones as payment acceptance devices and are thrilled to introduce the technology in the U.S. with mobile Smartphone technology and solution provider, ZmBIZI.

Additionally, the Visa Street Teams plan to visit 500 Black and women-owned small businesses in the Washington, D.C., area to deliver commerce in a box – a curated selection of offers, discounts and bundles from Visa and select partners. It is designed to help small businesses with whatever they may need to move their business forward digitally, from accepting digital payments, building an ecommerce site and marketing to their audience in new ways, to providing online tools to run and protect their business.

Furthermore, as part of Visa’s She’s Next Grant Program, sixty Black women entrepreneurs – 10 in Washington, D.C. – will be awarded $10,000, a year of coaching through IFundWomen and offers from Visa partners like Intuit QuickBooks, Finagraph and Invoiced, that will provide free trial subscriptions to tools and platforms needed to help manage the front- and back-end operations of their businesses.

The pandemic was a devastating reminder that small businesses are the backbone of our economy. By doubling down with hands-on support to digitally and financially accelerate these businesses in Washington, D.C., we can simultaneously drive better economic, gender and social equity.

Are you a small business interested in getting involved? Learn more at Visa.com/unbox

¹NY Fed Report
²Visa Black Women-Owned Businesses Survey – February 2021