COVID-19 took a toll on small businesses everywhere, but the pandemic disproportionately affected Black-owned small businesses. In fact, over 40% of Black-owned businesses are expected to have closed forever due to COVID-19. At the same time, the pandemic also took a heavy toll on the creative industry, many of whom saw their livelihoods disappear overnight as marketers cut spending and budgets.

To help bridge the gap of inequality for both audiences, Instagram launched WE CREATE, a program that harnessed two of its superpowers: creative inspiration and economic empowerment.

We Create hired, then paired 15 Black creative professionals with 15 Black-owned small businesses, tasking each Creative to develop Instagram-first assets that addressed their small business partner’s specific needs. In addition to compensating each Creative for their work, the program also provided training, mentorship, and a platform to showcase their talents. Each small business received a custom suite of best-in-class Instagram creative—at no cost to them.