Black women are starting businesses at the fastest clip of any racial group, research by American Express says.
“Most cities have some co-working space but don’t have a low-barrier way to access capital. They may not have black and brown leaders working locally to move the needle on things. So showing up and being in the room is a huge part of the work,” said Shelly Bell, founder of Black Girl Ventures, an organization that provides education and advisory services that outline a road map for the growth and success of minority and/or veteran women entrepreneurs.
When Funlayo Alabi started Shea Radiance, a natural skin and hair care brand 10 years ago, she saw a gap in the U.S. market for natural, unrefined shea butter products. An immigrant from Africa, she saw first hand how the well unrefined shea butter that her mother brought form home worked on her son’s eczema. She started selling small batches of the natural moisturizer, mixed with essential oils, at the local farmers market and saw great demand.
“Bankers didn’t understand naturals and didn’t fully understand how our sourcing worked. They thought there was a lot of risk there. I was not able to secure loans from traditional sources,” she said.
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