Pharrell's Black Ambition nonprofit has announced the start of its second annual prize competition.
On Tuesday, the company behind the initiative-which aims to support Black and Latinx entrepreneurs on their respective paths to success-announced that ventures in consumer products and services, media and entertainment, healthcare, and tech and Web 3.0 would all be eligible to win up to $1 million.
Livegistics founder Justin Turk, who won the 2021 Black Ambition Prize, said there is more to this initiative than financial gain in a statement released Tuesday.
“People who think that winning Black Ambition is about the prize money have it all wrong,” Turk said. “The network, the education, the resources are so much more important than the dollars. Being part of this organization has changed the trajectory of all of our lives here at Livegistics. Everyone who is part of this process will leave better off than they came. When 2022’s competition is over, don’t let money be the only thing you walk away with.”
Pharrell summarized the goals of Black Ambition in a message, linking the importance of this endeavor to one's understanding of how the "constellation of the universe" works. This year Pharrell will be featured on Pusha-T and NIGO releases.
“When you realize how lucky you are to be in the constellation of the universe and when you learn how it really works, you stop buying vehicles and you create vehicles to drive you,” he said. “That’s what Black Ambition is, it’s a vehicle for impact. At Black Ambition, we find you and then we fund you.”
The Black Ambition initiative includes Adidas, Visa, Billionaire Boys Club and Icecream in partnership with Aku, among others. A separate Black Ambition HBCU Prize will award $100,000 to one grand prize winner, with "at least" seven other groups receiving smaller prizes.
To learn more about Black Ambition, including how to sign up for these year's prizes, visit the official site. Both the Black Ambition Prize 2022 and the Black Ambition HBCU Prize 2022 have a deadline date of May 8.