After Planned 5-Year Run, Microsoft Quietly Ends Black Partner Growth Initiative

Microsoft’s Black Partner Growth Initiative (BPGI), launched a month after the May 2020 death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, ended July 1 at the close of its planned five-year run.

The BPGI was designed to support Microsoft partners that identified as majority Black-owned or Black-led within the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP), according to an FAQ on the company’s partner website. The program was part of Microsoft’s response to Floyd’s death, which sparked a national conversation about race and opportunity in America.

A Microsoft spokesperson told ChannelE2E in an email that the company had nothing further to add beyond the information already posted on the BPGI site.

The program aimed to provide greater access to Microsoft resources to help integrate more Black-owned partner businesses into the Microsoft ecosystem and encourage their growth.

Microsoft said it worked with more than 1,450 partners through BPGI, assisting with technical support, go-to-market readiness, and community events such as cohorts and accelerators. Those partners “published over 500 transactable offers, participated in co-sell motions, and gained increased visibility across Microsoft solution areas and field engagement efforts, increasing revenue collectively YoY by 328%,” according to the company’s site.

“Having reached the end of these objectives, we have learned valuable lessons that will inform our broader business strategy,” Microsoft said. “Moving forward, we will fuel innovation and AI enablement for our partners through expanded tools, resources, and content in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program (MAICPP).”

BPGI participants will continue to have access to the resources available to all MAICPP members, the company added. “Our mission remains to ensure AI innovation and business growth opportunities are accessible to all partners, especially SMBs and those serving underrepresented communities, aligned with Microsoft's mission.”

The BPGI was part of Microsoft’s five-year Racial Equity Initiative (REI), also created in 2020. REI was built to “address racial injustice in the United States and to help the lived experiences of our employees and the communities in which we live and work,” according to Microsoft.

With BPGI’s closure, funding available through a related Microsoft payment solutions program and partner fund also ended on July 1, 2025. “While this fund was not exclusive to BPGI - all MAICPP members had access - we know it was a highly valued benefit for this community. Please continue to work with your applicable third-party lender to manage your account and determine next steps. We are proud we have met our goal of almost $70M in funding deployed,” the company said.

Also ending with the program was personalized support from dedicated Microsoft team members. “Nevertheless, the MAICPP program is structured to offer strong support for business growth. MAICPP will persist in investing in initiatives that promote business development, expand customer reach, and enhance technical skills and enablement,” the company stated.

Closure Not a Surprise, Analyst Says

Shelly Kramer, principal analyst with Kramer&Co., told ChannelE2E that Microsoft’s decision to end the program after its five-year commitment could be seen as a missed opportunity.

“Seeing the Microsoft Black Partner Growth Initiative come to an end, especially in today's political climate, is not in any way surprising,” she said. “The program provided significant support to historically disadvantaged partners, and those businesses, in turn, drove more business for Microsoft.”

But today, programs designed to support minority-owned businesses are often criticized, Kramer said. “If a program is in any way intended to help a minority part of society, the overarching tendency seems to be to deem it as ‘woke’ and thus unfair. So, despite its success, of course the program will end as scheduled. There is too much risk for shareholders to do otherwise.”