from Black women-owned businesses in H&M stores nationwide.  Regarding the company’s continued partnership with BFABW, Donna Dozier Gordon, H&M Americas’ head of inclusion and diversity, commented, “H&M is proud to continue our partnership with Buy From A Black Woman and introduce the Inspire Tour into the Canadian market, deepening our commitment to promoting economic inclusion for Black women entrepreneurs.” “At a time when corporate inclusion and diversity initiatives are under scrutiny or being abandoned altogether, H&M is committed to reinforcing our efforts, as we maintain the belief that inclusion and diversity (I&D) is a critical cornerstone for the success of our business,” Gordon concluded.  Inside Retail spoke with BFABW’s founder Nikki Porcher about the inspiration behind the organization, her work with H&M Americas, and her enduring mission to uplift and support Black women in the retail space. How it all got started  The original concept for BFABW was sparked in December 2015 when Porcher went to a holiday market and saw no vendor who resembled herself.  At the time, Porcher worked in a different non-profit organization after working in the military’s Air Force for approximately 9 years.  Instead of becoming dejected after the aforementioned shopping experience, the future non-profit founder was inspired to blog about Black women-owned businesses and almost immediately began receiving positive feedback. From brand founders looking to be featured on the blog, consumers looking for a directory of these types of businesses to support, to those looking to support her work with monetary donations. By February 2016, Porcher began to see the full potential of her work outside of a blog and by March, Porcher was fired from the organization she was working with, which in hindsight, the entrepreneur felt that everything worked out as it should have.  It allowed her to focus on her own non-profit work and she explained that it was one of those days that showed her that BFABW could become bigger than she had initially thought it to be.  In between working on BFABW, Porcher worked as a teacher full-time for several years before deciding to save up funds between the 2018 and 2019 school year to focus solely on the non-profit.  Since July 31, 2019, Porcher has been working with BFABW on a full-time basis and has never looked back.  As Porcher told Inside Retail, “I love that we’re here for Black women business owners and the people who support them. So if you support Black women, we support you. We’re all a community.” What has BFABW accomplished thus far? Annually, BFABW connects Black women-owned brands with over 50,000 consumers through its online directory and in 2023 alone, BFABW has helped Black women drive over $2.7 million in revenue.  Amongst its list of accomplishments, the organization has hosted over 160 business workshops and training sessions for new and veteran brand founders, awarded 45 business grants, and Porcher revealed BFABW will be teaming up with the IRS to help de-stigmatize Black brand founders from going to the government for assistance.  Since first partnering up in 2021, together H&M Americas and Buy From A Black Woman have: • Spotlighted over 65 Black women-owned businesses in H&M stores across both the Inspire Tour and Holiday Market, which has directly impacted the business owners’ bottom line – from increased brand credibility and visibility to important networking opportunities. • Activated 42 pop-up events and rallied local communities in 14 cities to amplify Black women-owned businesses across both the Inspire Tour and Holiday Market. • Supported 30 Black women-owned businesses in the process of becoming certified minority-owned businesses through the Black Woman Accelerator Program. The 2024 Inspire Tour will touch down in 6 cities across North America including New Orleans (July 6-7), Chicago (July 13), Tulsa (July 14), Washington (July 20), Macon (July 21), and Toronto (July 27).   When asked about future initiatives that BFABW has in store, Porcher responded that she is open to exploring further areas of opportunity.  “In full transparency,” Porcher commented, “I go where the community tells us we need to go. Right now we’re in the procurement space and certification space. We know that those are spaces where founders can get more money upfront to do bigger jobs and continue sustaining their businesses. We’re also touching into the government space with policy proposals of getting [injust] laws overturned, so there are some spaces we are going in.” “But if you were to ask me that three years ago,” she elaborated, “I wouldn’t have given this answer. It’s just one of those things where we’re guided by the community because the community is always going to tell us what they need. We have to make sure we’re always listening to them first.”