Winrock International has received a $900,000 grant from the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity, to provide business development support to Black-owned e-commerce and wholesale retail enterprises in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
The grant will support Winrock’s Readying Small Business for Access to Capital program that is designed to help business owners seek, prepare for and tap into new sources of capital to sustain and expand their businesses.
Winrock, which is moving to a new central Arkansas location after selling its headquarters on Riverfront Drive in Little Rock, said this support comes after the pandemic disproportionately impacted Black and other minority-owned businesses across the U.S.
The nonprofit global development agency said these businesses not only lack access to traditional sources of capital but often have a smaller cash flow buffer than their white-owned counterparts, a buffer that is needed to remain liquid during economic downturns.
Winrock said, through its Readying Small Business program, it will use the grant to analyze needs and gaps as well as assist business owners with evaluating and applying for new loans, developing business plans, prototyping and patenting, customer discovery, accounting, marketing, corporate governance, peer networking, provide credit counseling and more.
Winrock will also connect entrepreneurs to potential loan, grant and investment opportunities through numerous programs, including the Southern Opportunity and Resilience Fund announced in May.
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