Build Community Wealth

WEPOWER Launches $1.5 Million Fund to Invest in Black and Latinx Entrepreneurs in North St. Louis

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Let's Build Wealth Together.

WEPOWER Accelerator provides coaching, connections, capital, and capacity to St. Louis-based Black and Latinx founders and neighborhoods to close the racial wealth gap and build an economy that centers our collective wellbeing.

It’s Time to Create Conditions For Black and Latinx Communities To Control Our Own Resources.

“The racial wealth gap didn’t just happen. The forces that contributed to these gaps include the colonization of native lands, the institution of slavery, decades of state-sanctioned segregation, and a history of structural racism and discriminatory policies that boxed these groups of color out of the nation’s income and wealth creation machinery.” – Democracy Collaborative

Investment in BIPOC entrepreneurs' success is estimated to generate 1.1 million more businesses and 9 million more jobs. It would boost our national income by 300 billion dollars. You can read more about what we learned in our report, Dream of Change

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WE believe wealth is POWER.

WE believe wealth is WELLBEING.

WE believe wealth is for the people, all people.

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Together, we will create new vehicles for community-owned wealth, quality jobs, and livable wages that will make the St. Louis economy work for everyone, not a few.

WE Accelerate Wealth

To accelerate the number of thriving Black and Latinx businesses in divested neighborhoods, we run an accelerator where entrepreneurs access coaching, capital, connections, and co-working. We do this while engaging in regional-level coordination, so more Black and Latinx businesses also access the many other startup supports in St. Louis.

WE Invest in Wealth Generation

To increase much-needed access to capital, with Kiva, a global micro-lending nonprofit, we provide businesses with zero-interest loans.

We provide catalytic revenue-based investments where part of the returns are community-owned for businesses ready to scale in divested neighborhoods.

WE Own the Resources in Our Communities

To drive community-owned wealth, we build the capacity of community members to democratically control the businesses, land, and assets that exist in their neighborhoods and are a result of their labor.

WEPOWER Accelerator

Our accelerator program offers St. Louis-based entrepreneurs access to funding, training, coaching, marketing support, connections and co-working space.

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WEPOWER Capital

One of the first funds of its kind provides founder-friendly capital up to $200,000 through revenue-based investments along with technical assistance and connections.

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Interested?   

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