Sean “Diddy” Combs wants Empower Global to become a marketplace that Black Americans use to keep its money in the Black community.
Entertainment mogul and businessperson Sean “Diddy” Combs hopes to create a haven for Black consumers to support Black-owned businesses with an online marketplace.
The e-commerce platform is called, Empower Global and Combs invested $20 million into the new venture.
Combs said, “I’m not doing this for profit. This is about us. This is something that is for my people. It’s a tipping point for us to wake up, start paying attention and supporting each other while taking responsibility and accountability.”
Once upon a time, mainly because of segregation, Black dollars stayed in the Black community for a long time.
If a Black person needed medical care, they had to go to a Black doctor, nurse or even a midwife.
If a Black person wanted to eat out, they visited a Black establishment.
And if a Black person wanted entertainment, they visited a Black-owned juke joint.
The Greenwood district in Tulsa, Okla. even got the moniker of Black Wall Street because of all the successful Black-owned businesses.
Many say integration was detrimental to the idea of a Black Wall Street because the Black community is now often spread out.
However, the Internet has brought the world closer together.
Combs wants to take advantage of the web by bringing the community together by creating an online marketplace so that Black consumers can keep their dollars in the Black community.
He also wants to help the Black community build and keep wealth.
The former Howard University student said, “I want to create our own Black Wall Street. This is about building our own infrastructure and ecosystem.”
The founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, once the record label for such artists as The Notorious B.I.G., Mase, Total, 112, Faith Evans and New Edition, added, “It benefits the community to empower and take care of itself. Right now, our dollar in the Black community doesn’t even last an hour. Most other communities and ethnic groups, they understand the power of unity. Their dollars stay in their communities for days and gets passed on to other people that are like them and from their same community.”
Yahoo reported, “The e-commerce platform allows consumers to buy products created and sold by Black entrepreneurs, according to the Associated Press. The curated online platform features shoppable clothing, shoes, art, and beauty accessories like skincare products and fragrances. It was developed by a pair of Black-owned companies: TechSparq and ChatDesk.”
Empower Global started with 70 brands.
The online marketplace believes more Black businesses will join every month.
Combs’ hopes that Empower Global has over 200 brands by the end of the year.
Additionally, he states that he feels more excited at the birth of Empower Global than he did when Craig Mack dropped the first album on Bad Boy.
Combs said, “I’m going into these areas to diversify things and fight for our inclusion. This is a platform about sharing power and empowering each other.”
He added, “My dreams have always been to be successful in music, being obsessed with fashion and the greatest Black serial entrepreneur to ever live.
“I’ve graduated from me to we. I’m able to use my God-given intelligence to create. I’m passionate about the possibility of showing Black economic unity. I’m not going to stop until I’m working with the best brands, the best Black-owned digital mainstream, so we can start fueling our own economic system.”
The Revolt TV founder has made headlines recently for his desire to purchase BET.
Other moguls and titans of business interested in purchasing BET include Tyler Perry, Byron Allen and Shaquille O’Neal.
Furthermore, Combs has made headlines for severing ties with the liquor company he has been in business with for years.
He accused the liquor company, Diageo, of racism.
Therefore, Diageo is moving forward with winding down its marketing relationship with Diddy.
As a result, Combs has accused the company of retaliatory behavior.
A Diageo spokesperson told AllHipHop, “This is a business dispute and should not be recast as anything other than that. We have exercised our contractual rights to terminate the marketing services agreement in place for Cîroc and begin the wind-down of the DeLeon joint venture.
“Our actions are consistent with our desire to protect the significant investment we have made in both brands and their future growth. Mr. Combs’ longstanding bad faith, false allegations, and breaches of contract overwhelmingly support Diageo’s justified decision to sever ties.”
In response, Combs stated, “The message is clear—if you dare to shed light on Diageo’s conduct, you will be punished.”
That alleged conduct that Combs accuses Diageo of is neglect, racial discrimination in terms of distribution, production and sales of DeLeon tequila, which he co-owns.
Furthermore, Combs accuses Diageo of classifying his DeLeon tequila as an urban brand, marketable only to Black consumers.
Diageo has asked the courts to dismiss Combs’ lawsuit against the company.
Diddy’s lawyer John Hueston said, “While Diageo has self-servingly misrepresented the goals of Combs’ lawsuit in the press, its attempt to retaliate against Combs for asserting his legal rights will not work.”
Diageo, which also owns more than 200 brand such as Guinness beer, Casamigos and Tanqueray gin, has done business with Combs since 2007.
The company approached Diddy about being the celebrity face behind Cîroc.
Their partnership has earned Combs $1 billion according to the New York Post.
