By Micah Maidenberg 



  PayPal Holdings Inc. said it would create a new fund to support minority businesses and communities, the latest example of larger companies looking to bolster underrepresented groups in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and protests following the killing of George Floyd and other African-Americans. 


  PayPal said Thursday it would commit $500 million toward the new fund. 


  Through the fund, the company said it will look to strengthen its relationships with community banks and credit unions serving underrepresented groups and invest "directly into Black and minority-led startups and minority-focused investment funds." 


  PayPal also said Thursday it is committing $15 million toward internal diversity and inclusion efforts, $10 million for grants to African-American businesses affected by the pandemic or protests, and additional funds toward other efforts. 


  "Black lives matter and we need to drive transformative change. We must take decisive action to close the racial wealth gap that sustains this profound inequity," PayPal Chief Executive Dan Schulman said in a statement. 


   Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com