Kadidja Dosso Receives HBCU Black Ambition Grand Prize
Hampton alum Kadidja Dosso recently received the $250,000 Grand Prize of the HBCU Prize from the Black Ambition nonprofit organization founded by Grammy Award-winning artist and Virginia Beach hometown hero Pharrell Williams. Launched in 2020, the nonprofit organization is meant to invest in “high-growth startups founded by Black and Latinx HBCU students and entrepreneurs.”
Born in west Philadelphia, Kadidja Dosso created an organic, hypoallergenic cosmetic and beauty business named Dosso Beauty LLC after graduating Hampton University in 2017. Having the dream since ten years old, she was able to grow her dream into a now international business, one that will only grow even further with the help of Black Ambition and her HBCU Grand Prize winnings. After years of being mostly self-funded and turned down by countless grants, Dosso finally was able to secure a large amount of money to ease the stress of financing her business.
Dosso doesn’t just plan to use the full money on her business. She plans to donate $75,000 back into her alma mater Hampton University, while also using some to donate to non-profit membership programs and scholarships in order to help create generational wealth in the Black community.
Of the founders of Black businesses recognized by Black Ambition, Pharrell Williams had to say: “Today we celebrate their determination, resourcefulness, and creativity. Because of Black Ambition, the world will be much more equitable. More people of color can pursue their ventures and get what they need to thrive. There’s been too much disparity and discrimination. Black Ambition will continue to create and push for more seats at the table, so that your talent, not your color, determines your results.”
Black women entrepreneurs have rarely had the same opportunities afforded to them as others. Because of those challenges it makes working that much harder. Finally, we are seeing avenues for women of color to get the proper funding and recognition for their business endeavors in an increasingly competitive world.
The top Black Ambition Grand Prize of $1 million was awarded to Livegistics, a Black-owned cloud-based software company specializing in construction waste management that operates out of Detroit, Michigan.
The non-profit hopes to continue their endeavors for years to come to provide opportunities for Black and Latinx business-owners and entrepreneurs to build generational wealth and not only thrive in, but “transform the American landscape.”