How investments in Black businesses can help close KC's racial wealth gap

The Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union provides small business loans to local Black and Brown businesses, through average investments of $24,000. This small, community lender provides more funding to local businesses than larger national banks like Citibank, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, helping support local businesses and finance community development.

Sacramento’s Cannabis Opportunity and Racial Equity program is helping people who were adversely affected by discrimination during America’s war on drugs to start businesses in the regulated cannabis industry. Qualifying entrepreneurs receive wraparound support including funding and small-business education. So far, 10 dispensary licenses have been awarded to participants.

The Heurich House Museum in Washington, D.C., has created two targeted initiatives—the Urban Manufacturing Incubator and the DC Makers' Guild—to support local small-scale artisan businesses facing barriers to growth such as high rent fees and limited visibility. These programs provide mentorship, business coaching, market entry opportunities, like various mini markets throughout the year, and advocacy support to improve market conditions for these small businesses.

The SAB Foundation is an independent trust set up by South African Breweries (SAB) as part of the government’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment scheme. It helps businesses — particularly underserved entrepreneurs like women and people with disabilities — grow and thrive. Since 2010, the Foundation has backed more than 6,400 social impact businesses in their early stages.

The GIRL-H program provides skill training and business assistance to youth from marginalized communities. Participants receive education and training in an area of their choosing and once they complete the training, they receive start-up capital to help them start their own businesses. The program has helped over 6,000 youth learn a new skill and start an entrepreneurial venture.

To combat unemployment, the Girls2Women Initiative runs 6- to 12-week training programs for girls and women in underserved communities in Nigeria. During this time they learn skills they can use to find a job or start their own business in industries like graphic design, decor, and tailoring.

The nonprofit Africa Research Association Managing Development teaches communities in Obanliku, Nigeria, to run their own businesses in things like gardening, soap making, and marketing, and helps establish cocoa cooperatives to keep them from depending on deforestation for income. The program also requires communities to designate parts of the forest for conservation and trains members to protect those areas.

A group of female entrepreneurs created a market for other enterprising women who can’t afford to pay standard shop and licensing fees to access a safe place to sell their wares. The group connects women to train them in entrepreneurship, provide networking opportunities and inform people about the market and upcoming events via social media to drive more customers to the marketplace.

Global Entrepreneur in Residence programs, like Global Cleveland, partner with H-1B cap-exempt universities to form a pathway for international entrepreneurs looking to start and grow their business ventures in the U.S., helping to eliminate barriers international entrepreneurs face when starting a business in the states.

My Green Network is a “cannabis cloud kitchen” that offers a shared-use facility for those looking to enter the cannabis industry launch their small businesses. It also provides business needs like legal advice, meeting space, storage, distribution and help applying for state and local permits.