Years After Pledging $10,000,000 for Noble Cause, Black-Owned Business’ $13.5 Million Success Gets Silent Approval From Shaquille O’Neal

The NBA world is well aware of $400 million worth Shaquille O’Neal being charitable and generous. Similar to his 7’1 frame, his heart is just as big. He often engages in philanthropy, trying to make good of his success to help others, like his $10 million endeavor a few years ago. Moreover, he is also a man of celebration. The 4x NBA champion holds a strong admiration for those who provide for others and subsequently find success in their path. So, he took to his Instagram stories to celebrate a trio of African-American entrepreneurs who, from their benevolence, rose to great heights.

Big Diesel operates by the simple philosophy of bringing a smile to people around him. It may be through him kind-heartedly paying their bill or even purchasing a brand new item for them. That is the righteous and compassionate nature of Shaq.

Shaquille O’Neal celebrates three amazing businessmen

The trio in question is of three African-American entrepreneurs – Michael Nance, Ademola Adewale-Sadik, and Walker Brumskin. They met while attending Yale Law School and conjured an idea for their business. It is called Yellow Banana. Under the name, they operate 38 Black-owned grocery stores.

The Ohio-based company generates revenue of over $130 million from such locations. They only began operations in 2021. Yet, they have exponentially grown into a 400-employee organization. All of their stores are Save A Lot franchises that offer goods at discounted prices. It goes hand-in-hand with their primary objective of providing essential nutrition to underserved working families.

Recently, Chicago’s City Council’s Finance Committee granted them $13.5 million in subsidies to buy and transform six such grocery stores. Their tale inspired many, including Shaquille O’Neal. The gentle 7-footer celebrated their achievement and immense success by sharing their journey on his Instagram stories.

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It is especially dear to Shaq due to his own initiative back in 2020. When the world was burdened by the pandemic, there was chaos in the business sector. Many small entrepreneurs lost the means to re-surge their businesses. Just when doom was near, Shaquille O’Neal, living up to his Superman nickname, stepped in.

He partnered up with American Express and pledged a $10 million commitment towards Black-owned businesses. Along with financial aid, his program also provided business mentorship in hopes of helping eligible entrepreneurs escalate their ventures, as reported by Revolt.

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To see three African-American entrepreneurs reach the pinnacle after the pandemic is exactly the mission Shaq had set forth on. While Yellow Banana didn’t grow from Big Diesel‘s empathetic initiative, it deserves to be celebrated.