How do you start a business when you don’t have anything to use as collateral? In most cases, the answer is simple: You can’t — a bank won’t lend you the money. But one Mississippi-based nonprofit called Higher Purpose Co. is trying to change that for Black business owners in the Mississippi Delta.
In a state still reckoning with the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow-era economic inequities, the organization assists over 500 Black-owned businesses — 87% of which are run by Black women — by acting as an advocate and “capital matchmaker” to promote ownership and economic justice, said founder and CEO Tim Lampkin. Among its offerings are financial support mechanisms meant to mitigate systemic barriers at financial institutions that have historically stymied Black business development in Mississippi.
Recent Comments