Diageo North America said it will be the lead and anchor investor in Pronghorn, an economic initiative focused on cultivating the next generation of diverse bev/al founders, executives and entrepreneurs in a sustainable and scalable way. The amount of Diageo’s investment hasn’t been determined, but a spokesman said it will be “a significant capital contribution over a multi-year period.”
Pronghorn is projected to generate $2B in economic value over the next 10 years by identifying and nurturing new brands and nourishing emerging businesses through capital investment, thereby generating hundreds of new founders and thousands of participants.
Pronghorn will be a standalone entity led by a world-class management team with decades of combined experience in the beverage alcohol industry. As part of this effort the management team will be building out a fully staffed business and executive team that will run the day-to-day operations of Pronghorn.
The Black community represents 12% of consumers across the U.S. beverage alcohol category but is nonetheless inequitably represented within the industry from employment and ownership perspectives.
In its initial phase, Pronghorn will focus on addressing the lack of equitable representation among the Black community in the spirits industry by stimulating entrepreneurship, recruitment and retention.
Through this partnership, Pronghorn will identify and nurture new brands and nourish emerging businesses through capital investment, thereby generating hundreds of new founders and thousands of participants in an industry that creates $353 billion in economic value.
“It’s important that the Black community is represented on both sides of the bar, from brand creation to boardrooms and everywhere in between,” said Dia Simms, Pronghorn co-founder. “We’re proud to partner with Diageo to make sure that the Black community has a seat at the table. And anywhere there isn’t enough room at the table we’ll build a bigger table.”
“We’re honored to work alongside industry veterans and visionaries as they work to create a blueprint to effectively diversify an entire industry,” said Debra Crew, president, Diageo North America. “We recognize that the Black community within the category has been underrepresented and there are few sources of funding available. Our aim is to swiftly fuel change in the right direction with the qualified and motivated guidance of the creators of Pronghorn.”