Kiva St. Louis

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Zero Interest Loans For The People By The People

In partnership with Kiva, WEPOWER helps make capital more accessible to small business owners, particularly those who have been excluded by the mainstream financial system.

Entrepreneurs of color face direct discrimination and structural racism, resulting in less access to capital, compounding existing inequities and making it harder for communities of color to build generational wealth. Research has shown that Black entrepreneurs are rejected for loans at higher rates, on average approved for lower loan amounts, and charged higher average interest rates. It’s time to address these barriers.

Borrow Funds to Fuel Your Dreams

“Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.” – Tupac

Zero interest. Zero fees. Grace period. Access a loan between $1,000-$15,000. Kiva acts as a first-rung on an otherwise inaccessible financial ladder, creating an important new path to the financial mainstream.

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Am I Eligible?

In order to receive a loan from Kiva, you must meet the following minimum eligibility criteria:

Capital Access Manager, Edgar Payano, smiling

The Process

Learn more about the process below and reach out to Edgar, our Capital Access Manager, to learn more or get started. You can email Edgar at [email protected] or sign up for a time to talk 1:1 with him using the link below.

Updates

What it Takes to Thrive: The Importance of Investing in Everyone

November 29, 2022 What it Takes to Thrive: The Importance of Investing in Everyone By: Amina Abdul-Malik   “The conditions I saw growing up in North City just didn’t seem to reflect the beauty and intelligence I saw in the people around me.”  -Amina Abdul-Malik   I call it ‘Entrepreneur Brain.” It’s where your brain…

We Dream, We Build, We Win

November 29, 2022 We Dream, We Build, We Win If Harriet Tubman didn’t dream, if Dr. King didn’t dream, if Dolores Huerta didn’t dream-where would we be?   Dreams are sacred and necessary. They reveal possibilities, and affirm the necessity to create a different future. Dreams allow us to unleash ourselves and our families from…

Meet WEPOWER’s Fall Cohort of Biz Owners!

November 16, 2022 MEET WEPOWER’S FALL COHORT OF BIZ OWNERS! We are SO HAPPY to share that we have welcomed our fourth cohort of amazing Black and Latinx founders to the WEPOWER family! Take time to get to know each company and checkout their products, services, and venues!   Jamila Boone | Scene Event Space…

St. Louis County Council Votes to Allocate $5.6 Million in ARPA Funds to Improve Local Early Childhood Education

October 25, 2022 St. Louis County Council Votes to Allocate $5.6 Million in ARPA Funds to Improve Local Early Childhood Education   The vote follows months of public testimony and advocacy from The Early Childhood Power & Policy Action Group members and supporters.   After months of negotiations and hearings, the St. Louis County Council…

Protecting STL Children

October 24, 2022 Protecting STL Children On Monday, St. Louis experienced one of the greatest fears of our time: a school shooting.   The Central Visual and Performing Arts High School community faced an active shooter situation which led to multiple deaths and injuries of students and educators and immeasurable collective trauma.   As we…

WEPOWER Announces First Investment in St. Louis Startup, Bold Xchange

September 22, 2022 WEPOWER Announces First Investment in St. Louis Startup, Bold Xchange   Today WEPOWER announced Bold Xchange was selected as the inaugural capital recipient from the organization’s $1.5 million dollar investment fund. The pilot fund offers targeted investment in companies owned by Black and Latinx entrepreneurs with a strong growth trajectory to ignite…

For Us, By Us, with Love

August 25, 2022 For Us, By Us, with Love By: Coral Bello-Martinez   What drew me to work in education? I wanted to become the teacher that I had needed when I was in high school.   I was born and raised in New York, and my middle school experience in Harlem was the best-like,…

We Have More Power Than We Recognize

August 4, 2022 We Have More Power Than We Recognize By: Jacqueline Person   You don’t know what I’m going through, and at the same time I don’t necessarily know that you don’t know what I’m going through. It’s complex, right? There’s so many dynamics and intricate details that go along with people: why they…

You Have a Future in This: How vision can help build a village

July 14, 2022 You Have a Future in This: How vision can help build a village   By: Tim Eleby (aka Tim the Caterer)   I’m a dreamer. I get a vision, see stuff happening in my mind’s eye, and then I follow it. So with Pure Catering, I pretty much knew it was gonna come,…

Keeping Kids at the Center

June 13, 2022 Keeping Kids at the Center By Adesha Armstrong   This kind of work we do? It isn’t about us-it’s about the kids. If we’re not holding kids at the center, then how can we truly serve them and play a pivotal part in shaping these future leaders?    I’ve been educating long…