Aline Odara

Agbara Fund founder, Aline Odara, promotes economic justice and historical reparations, encouraging a new vision of philanthropy in Brazil and strengthening the entrepreneurship of Black women.

The Agbara Fund is the first fund dedicated to Black women in Brazil. In addition to generating direct income for one of the most vulnerable groups in Brazilian society, Aline's strategy also encompasses all participants in the investment ecosystem to ensure women's access to financing and development opportunities. By offering courses and financial support to Black women entrepreneurs; influencing philanthropists, companies, and governments to commit to historical reparations; and sharing her message with the general public, Aline combats structural racism and promotes productive inclusion, racial and gender equality.

Agbara's methodology contributes to the socio-emotional stability, income generation, and productive inclusion of Black women. The actors mobilized by the participating organizations are divided into three groups: A) Black women entrepreneurs, professionals, and leaders who need support; B) companies, philanthropists, and governments, holders of power who must change their policies and practices; C) the general public, who – with racial literacy – can begin to support the cause.

The Agbara Fund focuses on Economic Justice for Black women, investing financial resources, training, and connections to expand opportunities for financial autonomy, collective care, and political power. Its work is structured around four main areas: (1) Development, with financial donations and educational programs that promote local solutions led by Black women, strengthening their professional performance and autonomy; (2) Knowledge and Advocacy, combining data production and memory with political advocacy to influence public policies, the field of philanthropy, and the private sector in promoting social, economic, and climate justice; (3) Diversity Consulting, supporting organizations in their racial literacy processes and in building action plans for racial equity with real impact; and (4) Dialogues on Race and Black Culture, promoting events, public participation, and the Agbara Festival as a space for valuing ancestral knowledge, Black art, and income generation for women entrepreneurs. These areas work together to transform structures and strengthen the protagonism of Black women in the economy and society.

Aline believes that in the next 5-10 years, the Agbara Fund will continue to work on strengthening these pillars, as she sees them as fundamental for systemic change. The Agbara Fund also seeks to spread its knowledge and influence throughout the country. To this end, it creates partnerships with local organizations that participate in its mentoring projects and conducts training sessions open to the public, in order to reach new groups of Black women entrepreneurs who need support.

The latest national census indicates that 28.3% of the Brazilian population is composed of Black women (60.6 million people), of whom 48.3 million are of working age. Despite being the largest population group in the country, a 2024 survey by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) concluded that this is the group that benefits least from social progress, especially after the pandemic, a period in which Brazil's HDI regressed six years, returning to the same level as in 2014.

Approximately 27.4% of Brazilian households are headed by Black women. These households, on average, house more people – both children and adults – than households headed by other groups. Furthermore, about 60% of the poorest population depends on the care and labor provided by Black women for their survival. However, in most cases, these women are the ones who suffer the most from multidimensional violence, creating a ripple effect that affects the Black and marginalized population as a whole. It is estimated that 7.6 million Black women are excluded from formal employment due to their domestic responsibilities and the care of children and other family members.

As pointed out by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and the Ministry of Racial Equality, this is also the population group most affected by unemployment (33.9%), a rate that increases as poverty levels rise. Black women also represent 32.8% of the population with a monthly income of up to half the minimum wage and 42.5% of people in extreme poverty. Consequently, they make up the group most exposed to low life expectancy, scarcity of educational opportunities, and remaining in marginalized contexts.

As an alternative to this hostile, structurally racist, and exploitative labor market system, the Black community frequently resorts to entrepreneurship. According to SEBRAE (Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service), in 2023, Black entrepreneurs made up 52% of Brazilian business owners (formalized or not), and 24% of the national entrepreneurial population are Black women. Despite having the majority in the Brazilian entrepreneurial sector, Black owners of small and micro-enterprises have the lowest income levels (77.6% earn up to two minimum wages per month) and the lowest level of education (45.1% only completed elementary school). The problem lies not only in the disparity in income or education, but also in the type of activity performed: 78% of Black entrepreneurs are concentrated in only ten sectors, including commerce, agriculture, and construction, which reveals a low diversity of occupations within this group. Black entrepreneurship also faces enormous barriers, such as lack of access to credit, financial resources, technical training, and networking, in addition to deeply rooted racial discrimination. The full exercise of entrepreneurship presupposes the ability to absorb the risks and failures inherent in business. This reality is distant for many Black leaders at the head of micro and small businesses, who frequently operate informally and face precarious working conditions without any kind of social protection.

With the Agbara Fund , Aline seeks to support historical reparations in Brazil by promoting economic justice and democratizing access to philanthropic resources. Agbara stands out as one of only two funds dedicated exclusively to Black initiatives and, at the same time, as the first fund focused on Black women in Brazil. Aline breaks vicious cycles of scarcity for Black women by ensuring access to decent income and work, encouraging Brazilian philanthropy to adopt more democratic means of inclusion.

Unlike most philanthropic organizations, the Agbara Fund is not family-run or corporate-based: it originates from Black associativism and highlights the inadequacy of the Brazilian State's actions in the face of its historical debt to slavery. Its methodology, structured around five pillars, seeks to transform the reality of vulnerable Black women, strengthen community leadership and civil society organizations, and influence the practices of philanthropists, donors, companies, and public bodies. Simultaneously, it promotes campaigns and special projects to raise awareness in society in general, broadening understanding of the problem and creating opportunities for the Black community. To support women, the Agbara Fund promotes the full exercise of their economic rights, combating the social, psychological, and financial subordination generated by racism and sexism. It launches public calls for proposals to fund initiatives by Black women and offers training programs focused on socio-productive inclusion. These open calls are geared towards specific themes, chosen through conversations with leaders from different sectors, to address the real challenges of the environment in which they are embedded. Implemented since 2022, we have already reached more than 4,000 women served, invested R$2.5 million in programs, and transferred R$1 million directly to Black women. The fund has built a portfolio of projects focused on different issues, such as for entrepreneurs in diverse fields (a public call entitled Avança Preta); for entrepreneurs in the food sector (Ajeum); one for women who collect waste (Atunlo Ife); for Black women's collectives (Malunga); aimed at employability in the port sector (Porto para Elas); for professionals in the field of aesthetics (Lewá); and editions dedicated to survivors of violence (Ìrèle).

The subsidies guarantee a direct income for these women, ranging from R$5,000 to R$20,000 in each training cycle. The work developed by Aline also strengthens these women in technical and institutional matters so that they can access other types of fundraising. The selected participants undergo technical, socio-emotional, and political training.

Agbara Fund prioritizes women who have faced multiple forms of violence, such as Black trans women, single mothers with more than three children, and former inmates. At the end of the program, participants develop their life, business, strategy, or career plans. Graduates join the Agbara network to be included in recurring projects offering financial support and networking opportunities. The Fund also offers open classes to share technical knowledge and promote civic participation. Since July 2024, the organization has had an Emergency Assistance Fund to support women fighting for human rights and students, with a value that can reach R$3,000 per applicant.

The impact on the philanthropic field, focusing on philanthropists, donors, companies, and public bodies, is based on three of the five pillars of the project's strategy. These pillars are key to the systemic change that Aline seeks, as she knows that the Agbara Fund alone is not enough to support all vulnerable Black women in the country. However, by transforming the philanthropy ecosystem and prioritizing economic justice for Black women on the political agenda, it is possible to generate lasting change in the Brazilian context. The work with these partners consists of a diversity consultancy through which the Fund aims to raise awareness among companies, guiding them to include and ensure the retention of Black people—especially women—in the workplace. The project encourages Black female leadership, professional advancement, active participation in decision-making positions, and the promotion of racial and gender equity in the workplace, in addition to being a source of revenue for the organization.

Agbara Fund also engages in political advocacy, working towards economic justice for Black women in Brazilian public policies. They promote online discussions, produce informational materials, and encourage the private and public sectors to invest in community-based organizations led by Black women. Since 2022, Agbara has also been educating the international community on ethnic and racial issues, participating in various global events.

To conduct evidence-based political advocacy, Agbara invests in the production of data and knowledge. It created the Research and Memory Center for Black Women (NUPEMN), which conducts studies from a racialized perspective of philanthropy. NUPEMN aims to systematize, produce, and disseminate data and information that contribute to racial and gender equity, especially for Black Brazilian women, and to the development of the field of private social investment philanthropy, as well as to recover and preserve the memory of the Black population.

To raise awareness in society as a whole, the Agbara Fund team holds meetings and events that promote racial literacy and access to information in areas such as gender, race, and class, democratizing artistic and cultural productions made by Black people and the diversity of artistic expressions in Brazil. The events include:
- Agbara Festival for Black Women: a multicultural event open to the public featuring performances, a creative economy fair, academic discussions, and workshops to promote the productive inclusion of Black women.
- Anti-Racist Day: training courses for non-Black people aimed at promoting racial literacy in Brazilian society.
- Agbara Dinner: an event designed to celebrate achievements, raise funds, and highlight the contributions made by Black women.
- Racial Literacy Campaigns: initiatives that disseminate knowledge about racial issues in Brazil, especially those affecting Black women.
- July of Black Women: a program featuring anti-racist training, online artistic performances, and support for events and demonstrations for social justice.

In its three years of existence, Agbara has had a direct impact on more than 6,000 Black women across the country. Agbara estimates that it has invested over R$900,000.00 in Black women. Agbara has also integrated into various networks to leverage resources, knowledge, and experiences, as well as strengthen its capacity to influence public policies and promote significant changes in private sector practices.

Over the next five years, Agbara is committed to systemic change, increasing the resources raised and distributed, and achieving financial self-sufficiency to sustain and expand the influence of its current and future projects. Projects in perspective include: a credit mechanism for Black women entrepreneurs; the opening of a Welfare Fund for Black Women Leaders to provide health and well-being; the development of an Anti-Racist Education Fund; and the creation of a Hub for Black Women Entrepreneurs to enable large sales contracts with the public and private sectors.

Aline also focuses on team development. As a young organization comprised of 24 women, Agbara's strategy to expand its community also needs to be applied internally. The team seeks to increase employee benefits, develop their skills, and offer emotional support. The organization already has a weekly study group with the entire team on Afrofuturism to prepare them to overcome structural racism, as well as to meet the high expectations placed upon them.

Daughter of a Black father and a white mother, Aline had to deal with racism from a very young age. Her father left the family when she was still very young, and Aline grew up with her mother's family. Being the only Black person in the house, she suffered microaggressions from those she loved most, but she still couldn't put a name to what she was experiencing. Everything changed when her uncle married a Black woman. At that moment, Aline recognized herself in this new member of the family and realized that she was different from those around her. From then on, she also began to see the various forms of racism present in her daily life.

Aline became involved in the Black and adult feminist movements, and shortly after, received a government scholarship to study at a renowned private college in Campinas (SP). Graduating in Social Sciences, she became a researcher in ethnic-racial relations. Always with a focus on collectivity as a defining trait, Aline was caring towards her colleagues and community, playing a central role in activist movements, she was involved in. Later, she earned a second degree in pedagogy, studying at a public university. There, she organized a series of successful campaigns to ensure the continued enrollment of low-income students. In 2020, three years after completing her first degree, Aline began working as a teacher in the Campinas municipal school system, which provided her with a stability she had never experienced before. This opportunity gave her the determination to use her knowledge to ensure that other Black women had access to the same comfort and security.

During the pandemic, with the exacerbation of social inequalities, Aline mobilized crowdfunding campaigns. Annoyed by having to constantly ask for money, she decided to structure a fundraising model to offer more solid support to her colleagues. In five days, she gathered 60 people who committed to donating R$20.00 per month, creating a fund for Black women. In less than six months, Aline and her project had 300 regular donors, capable of providing financial support to 6 women. With the increase in the number of donors, the number of people supported also grew. A vegan shoe brand began donating 10% of its sales profits to the initiative, an action that caught the attention of the media and the public.

At the end of 2020, Aline formally registered Agbara, and in March 2021, the first philanthropic fund for Black women was born in Brazil. Sailing in uncharted waters, Aline began studying entrepreneurship (Theory of Change, endowment, strategic planning, impact measurement, etc.) to strengthen the organization. Today, the Agbara Fund works for economic justice and the emancipation of the Black Brazilian population, guaranteeing the full exercise of their citizenship and autonomy.