EMPOWERING MINORITY – OWNED BUSINESSES WITH THE TOOLS TO SUCCEED
The Minority Business Empowerment Program’s (MBEP) purpose is to support minority enterpreneurs with the ability to seek funding, improve operations, and ultimately grow their businesses. Because increased net worth drives economic opportunity and a leading driver of increased net worth is enterpreneurship, Southern Bancorp Community Partner has designed the MBEP with a goal of increasing the number of microenterprises that are sustainable, resilient and scalable across our market area.
The Minority Business Empowerment Program (MBEP) was created to fill long- standing wealth gaps to enterpreneurship and capital access and be a bridge to more equitable economies for our communities.
Southern Bancorp, along with partners at Simmons Bank, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Little Rock’s 50 for the Future, and Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., created the program in January 2022,first as a pilot for minority owned business in Central Arkansas.
MBEP COHORTS FINISH THE PROGRAM BETTER PREPARED FOR THEIR BUSINESS’ FUTURE.
received new information that had a positive impact on their business
of participants said the program met their immediate needs
of participants received financing (approx. $75,000 per business)