Jennifer Lopez has become a national ambassador for Grameen America, a non-profit organization founded by Bangladeshi Nobel Prize laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus in 2008, in a bid to empower the next generation of Latina entrepreneurs.

The role will see the superstar singer serving several functions, including helping Grameen America with its mission of empowering 600,000 Latina entrepreneurs across 50 US cities with $14 billion in business capital and 6 million hours of financial education and training by 2030, The Hollywood Reporter reported on June 9.

It will also help Lopez further her philanthropic project Limitless Labs, which supports Latina-owned small businesses in addition to other work.

“Being Latino in this country has always been a matter of pride for me. I am humbled and beyond grateful to partner with Grameen America to accelerate its goal to deploy $14 Billion in life-changing loan capital to low-income Latina entrepreneurs by 2030,” Lopez said in a Facebook post on June 12.

“We will empower more than 600,000 women across the United States and we’re building pathways to employment and leadership opportunities. There’s so much strength in this community and it’s important to me to create equality, inclusivity and opportunity for women in business,” she continued.

Andrea Jung, CEO of Grameen America, said she was deeply honoured to partner with Lopez “to change the fabric of American entrepreneurship”.

Founded in 2008 by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus, Grameen America is a non-profit microfinance organization based in New York City. 

It provides loans, savings programs, financial education and credit establishment to women who live in poverty in the US.