Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a partner of Southern Bancorp Inc., has officially launched its Minority Business Empowerment Program, which offers technical assistance and funding readiness for minority business owners in five Arkansas counties.
Applications for the first cohort of 2024 opened on June 1 following a pilot program in 2021. During the pilot phase, 29 entrepreneurs in Pulaski County received free technical assistance and around half received loan funding, Southern Bancorp said in a news release. To date, more than $1 million in financing has been distributed to participating small businesses.
The program’s technical assistance component is led by industry experts over the course of 12 weeks. It includes both group learning and one-on-one sessions focused on seven key business disciplines:
- Sales and operations
- Financial management and accounting
- Human resources
- Marketing and communications
- Management and leadership
- Business growth strategies
- Digital technology integration
After completing the program, participants are better prepared to seek funding to support their business operations, growth, and scalability, according to the release.
“As a former minority entrepreneur myself, I understand many of the challenges faced by our communities firsthand, as well as the critical need for programs like this to help support small businesses with the building blocks to sustain, succeed, and scale,” Kenya Davenport, interim president of Southern Bancorp Community Partners, said in a statement.
The program will focus primarily on helping business owners in Pulaski, Saline, Lonoke, Faulkner and White counties, but qualified applicants outside of those areas in Arkansas and Mississippi will also be considered.
Simmons Bank announced a $1.25 million commitment to the program in May.
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