We’ve talked a lot on the OUR MONEY POWER podcast about the significant and pervasive wealth gap between men and women - which is even bigger when it comes to Black and Brown women. I wanted to dig deeper into the systemic and historical reasons this wealth gap exists in the first place and talk to someone who is actually offering solutions to close that gap. Shelly Omilâdè Bell, who goes by Omi, founded Black Girl Ventures to transform entrepreneurship by reimagining the way Black and Brown women founders get access to financial and social capital. Her innovative approach offers what she wishes she would have had herself in the early days of her own money journey.

Through Black Girl Ventures and their partners, she is now building an ecosystem and community to unleash the flow of capital to those who have been historically shut-out. In the process, she’s realized that money itself is not enough - it’s about our relationships too, and their role in how we build wealth and stand in our own money power.

"The money conversation I'm having is about relationship building. It's about negotiating. Negotiate for yourself, advocate for yourself. And, you know, just remember that all money comes from relationships. So it's not even about the dollars or the cents or the math – it is really about how you get it and sustain it." 
- Shelly Omilâdè Bell, Founder/CEO of Black Girl Ventures