SheaMoisture offers £40,000 minority salon owner grants

Minority salon owners in the UK are being invited to apply for a grant of up to £10,000 to help their salon survive the Covid-19 outbreak.

An initiative of SheaMoisture UK and their global Community Commerce business model, in partnership with WCAN, the SheaMoisture UK Community Commerce Salon Relief Fund is offering a total of £40,000 to support communities that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The fund will offer three grants of £10,000 to three separate salon owners, and five grants of £2,000 to five different salon owners.

The launch of the UK initiative comes after the success of the 1 Million Dollar Community Commerce Fund announced by SheaMoisture in April to support minority businesses in the USA.

On application, salon owners must demonstrate how their business supports their community, how the funds will support their staff, elevate their future business goals and show that they have positively adapted their business during Covid-19, which could include moving some of their business online, donating items to the community etc. 

Successful salon owners will be chosen by a panel including Editorial and Celebrity Hairstylist Stefan Bertin; Jamelia Donaldson, Founder of Treasure Tress; natural hair influencer and owner of O So Curly, Shannon Fitzsimmons aka UKCurlyGirl; and Mariam Jimoh, Founder of WCAN and Oja.

WCAN is a hub of support for the personal and professional development of black women with 5,000 members across the UK, supporting black female owned businesses with networking opportunities and advice on money management, sourcing investment and business skills as well as partnering closely with businesses on strategies to attract, hire and retain talented black women.

As part of the partnership with WCAN, the SheaMoisture UK Community Commerce Salon Relief Fund awardees will also be supported with longer term business mentoring, Black Girl Magic online community support, business spotlight on partner websites, and general hands on support.

Applications for the SheaMoisture UK Community Commerce Salon Relief Fund are open today (18th May) until 31st May, with successful salon owners announced on 5th June. Enter via social media or online.