WEPOWER Capital

What: WEPOWER Capital accelerates community owned wealth generation in North St. Louis communities that have experienced decades of divestment by investing in high growth Black and Latinx businesses.

Why: Our Region is Missing Out on a Major Opportunity to Advance Racial Equity & Build Wealth.

An investment in Black and Latinx entrepreneurs is an investment in our region’s collectiveprosperity. Black and Latinx entrepreneurs create jobs at the same rate or higher than white owned firms. However, our systems weren't designed for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs or communities to thrive.

Traditional Capital Denied

Black and Latinx entrepreneurs are more likely to be denied bank loans, offered less capital when approved, and charged higher interest rates.

Soaring Racial Wealth Disparities

Given the massive racial wealth gap -- white families have 10-20x the wealth of Black families -- most Black and Latinx entrepreneurs do not have access to anyone who will make an early investment of $30,000, let alone $100,000.

Pandemic Hits Harder

Nationwide, the number of Black owned businesses dropped by 41% between February 2020 and April 2020.

We cannot reach our potential as a region without fully investing in Black and Latinx communities and the businesses that can drive their economic mobility. It is time to provide access to capital to Black and Latinx businesses that have the potential to spark wealth for their families and their communities.

How We Do It

How: Founder-Friendly, Flexible “Capital+” That Builds Community Wealth

This is not your run of the mill investment fund. We provide “capital+” (i.e. capital plus connections and technical assistance), with a mission to spark place-based economic prosperity. Elevate/Elevar Capital uses revenue based investing, where entrepreneurs repay a fixed percentage of their revenue until a pre-agreed total has been paid back. This model is more flexible than traditional loans, allowing us to truly share risk with entrepreneurs and only succeed when they do, without reducing their ownership in their company.

  • Vehicle: Revenue share agreements & loans
  • Check size: $50,000 - $200,000
  • Return cap: 1.5x
  • Revenue share: ~2-10% of monthly revenue
  • Collateral: Not required
  • Credit Score: Not required

For Fast Growing, Black and Latinx Owned Companies

  • Approximately $5,000 to $100,000/month in revenue
  • Strong growth trajectory (or evidence of strong growth potential with investment)

Committed to Building Community Wealth

  • Companies receiving investment commit to hiring at or above a living wage or, at minimum, putting workers on a path to a living wage
  • Companies commit to hiring in and/or locating in priority neighborhoods that have experienced generations of disinvestment
  • A percentage of the returns will be owned and managed by the surrounding community and the rest will be invested in future Black and Latinx owned companies

Triple Impact

With this innovative model, the impact is three-fold. WEPOWER Capital catalyzes Black and Latinx owned businesses to:

  • Anchor neighborhoods
  • Build the tax base
  • Accelerate community owned shared wealth generation that disrupts generational divestment

Join Us

  • Fill out this interest form.
  • DONATE seed capital to help launch the fund that can be invested over and over again
  • Become a founding investor (accredited investors only)
  • Partner with us on the accelerator that builds part of the pipeline

To learn more, email Saida Cornejo Zuñiga at saida@wepowerstl.org

Note: This does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation of any security or any other product or service. You are solely responsible for determining whether any investment, investment strategy, security or related transaction is appropriate for you based on your personal investment objectives, financial circumstances and risk tolerance. You should consult your business advisor, attorney, or tax and accounting advisor regarding your specific business, legal or tax situation.