Jay-Z Launches $10 Million Fund to Invest in Minority-Owned Cannabis Startups. Jay-Z has launched a startup fund that will encourage more Black participation in the cannabis industry. In a conversation with ‘The Wall Street Journal,’ Jay-Z said he wanted to “do [his] part” and help in a “real, concrete way.” . We were the ones most negatively affected by the war on drugs, and America has turned around and created a business from it that’s worth billions, Jay-Z, to ‘The Wall Street Journal’. The Social Equity Ventures fund is the result of the merging of two California-based pot firms: Left Coast Ventures and CMG Partners. The merged company, dubbed The Parent Company, will start the fund off with an initial $10 million. From there, at least 2 percent of The Parent Company’s net income will be contributed annually. That money will go toward “diversifying” the cannabis industry’s “business leadership and workforce.” . ... To invest in minority-owned and Black-owned cannabis businesses and contribute to the effort to rectify the wrongs of prohibition … , The Parent Company, via statement. The Social Equity Ventures fund will also support “organizations and programs” that work toward diversifying the cannabis industry. . The fund will also support organizations and programs focused on diversifying the cannabis workforce through job fairs and placement, industry training and education, as well as Social Equity application support, The Parent Company, via statement. $1 million will be invested in each of the startups it chooses to back.