October 9, 2025
Aurora James is praising SheaMoisture for sustaining its assist of Black-owned companies amid broader company shifts on DEI initiatives.
As assist for various companies falters amid political assaults on DEI, Aurora James is praising SheaMoisture for standing out as a significant firm prepared to again initiatives led by folks of colour.
Contemporary off SheaMoisture’s announcement of increasing the Dartmouth Fellowship program in partnership with the Fifteen P.c Pledge, James is sharing what the collaboration means for Black entrepreneurs amid company pullbacks on DEI and a political local weather rolling again prior progress.
“It’s a pleasure to accomplice with SheaMoisture, as a result of they get it – variety is of their DNA,” James informed Essence. “This model has been supporting Black customers and entrepreneurs since day one.”
By means of the partnership, James and the Fifteen P.c Pledge group will assist choose half of the 20 members for the SheaMoisture Fellowship at Dartmouth’s Tuck College of Enterprise. Launched in 2015, the fellowship totally funds ladies entrepreneurs’ attendance, offering entry to top-tier enterprise schooling and networks that may rework the trajectory of their companies.
This 12 months’s fellowship, with the Pledge’s involvement, ensures that at the very least half of the members are Black-owned companies, reflecting James’s ongoing mission to push main retailers to dedicate 15% of their shelf house to Black-owned manufacturers.
“I began the Pledge with a name to motion for firms to make long-term, sustained investments in Black founders – as a result of at this level, everyone knows that writing one examine or launching one collaboration will not be going to maneuver the needle towards fairness,” she stated.
Amid a difficult local weather for various enterprise homeowners, James stays optimistic, highlighting Pledge supporters who haven’t solely maintained their assist for Black-owned companies however have even strengthened their commitments.
“It’s exhausting to not really feel like we’re backtracking proper now,” she stated. “However the excellent news is, our strongest companions on the Pledge – who’ve at all times been in it for the suitable causes – are doubling down on their commitments to fairness. As a result of they perceive it’s a sensible enterprise proposition.”
Over the 10-year historical past of the SheaMoisture Fellowship at Dartmouth’s Tuck College of Enterprise, greater than 100 ladies have participated, attaining a mean income progress of 14.3% and a 6% improve in revenue margins. James is now desperate to see that success prolong to Black women-owned companies.
“We actually hope to see founders stroll away from the Dartmouth expertise with instruments and classes to scale their companies sustainably,” she stated. “If these ladies head residence from this expertise and create a ripple impact of wealth, innovation, and alternative of their communities, that’s how we all know the work is working.”
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