Fanbytes Launches £100,000 Fund For Black-Owned Businesses And Creators

With the spotlight heavily on the Black Lives Matter Movement worldwide and the microscope fixed on the influencer pay gap between black and non-black influencers, influencer agency Fanbytes has pledged £100,000 towards campaigns for Black-owned businesses and by Black creators. With the help of investors including Jerry Bulhmann (Dentu Aegis chief executive), John Taysom and the team at Founders Factory, it is looking to reach £1m in the next 12 months. The Fanbytes Impact programme is set to back black-owned consumer-focused businesses turning over up to £15k monthly revenue. The paid support will go towards creating, managing, and running influencer marketing campaigns worth around £5,000. According to the company, the campaigns will feature predominantly Black creators and Fanbytes pledges that all-black creators will be paid fairly and promptly. Fanbytes data shows that while black influencers have a click-through-rate of 2.2x more than non-black influencers, they are often overlooked because they do not fit the typical ‘influencer’ look.

These biases can be damaging, said

Fanbytes founder Tim Armoo: “The Fanbytes Fund is here to break the cycle by providing previously inaccessible marketing support, so brands and content creators can get to the next level and go against this cycle. If we can play a role in this for some of the brightest companies then we can help kick start the next generation of Black-owned companies.”For CEO Tim Armoo, it’s not about acting as a charity or seeking donations, “If we can play a role in the success of some of the brightest companies then we can help kick start the next generation of black-owned companies.”