Uber Eats launched its “Grants for Growth” program in partnership with Visa and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Focused on restaurant recovery and entrepreneurship, the program offered $10,000 grants to up to 100 small businesses affected by COVID, natural disasters, or other unexpected events. The program was targeted to merchants in the 10 cities that are currently active on Uber Eats (such as Boston, Philadelphia, or NYC), and with a weighted preference for women-owned, veteran-owned or other diverse-owned enterprises.

To draw further attention to this initiative, the brands released a series of celebratory films highlighting five of the “Grants for Growth” recipients. Our contribution was born out of witnessing and listening first-hand to the business owners’ authentic stories – from their early vision to their tireless work building a business and their resilience amidst the pandemic.

The program granted a total of $1 million to 100 small businesses: 92% were entrepreneurs of color, 69% were female-owned businesses, and 88% of the businesses were in low or moderate-income areas.