WASHINGTON, DC – The National Venture Capital Association today joined as a supporting partner of the Open Network for Board Diversity (ONBOARD) Initiative. Spearheaded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and LinkedIn, the goal of the initiative is to increase the number of women and minority members of advisory boards and boards of directors of high growth small businesses, with special emphasis on those businesses supported by Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs).
“NVCA, our members and the companies they support all have a stake in creating a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem and a critical component to those efforts starts with the composition of company boards,” said Bobby Franklin, President and CEO of NVCA. “Since the launch of the NVCA Diversity Task Force in December of 2014, we have been committed to examining the lack of diversity in venture capital and the broader innovation economy and developing solutions to provide for greater opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities. We are proud to add our participation with the ONBOARD Initiative to the long list of engagements we have undertaken over the last two years to foster a more inclusive ecosystem.”
In addition to SBA, LinkedIn and NVCA, other ONBOARD Initiative Partners include: American Investment Council (AIC), Association of Asian-American Investment Professionals, BoardList, Director’s Academy, Kauffman Fellows Program, National Association of Investment Companies, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), National Bar Association (NBA), Robert Toigo Foundation, Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA), Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).
