WEPOWER Capital

Capital That Works for Companies and Communities

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.

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 collective prosperity. 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.

It Is Time to Reimagine The Role of Capital

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.

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.

WEPOWER 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, based on business profile
Revenue share: ~2-10% of monthly revenue
Collateral: Not required
Credit Score: Not required

For Fast Growing,
Black and Latinx
Owned Companies

We are looking for:

Black and Latinx owned companies
Anywhere between $5,000-100,000/month (or more) in revenue
Strong growth trajectory (or evidence of strong growth potential with investment)
Companies committed to hiring at or above a living wage or, at minimum, putting workers on a path to a living wage
Companies committed to hiring in and/or locating in priority neighborhoods, St. Louis city wards 3 and 21, that have experienced generations of disinvestment