Milwaukee-based business incubator, Sherman Phoenix, wants to see its community win. As a result of their tireless efforts, the venue is boosting the economic growth of Black women entrepreneurs, reports Black Enterprise.
On a mission to generate profitable and social returns for small businesses and startups, Sherman Phoenix created a high-quality space for over 30 restaurants and shops to offer “diverse foods, wellness services and cultural activities.”
The majority of owners behind these growing companies are Black women like Adija Smith, owner of commercial bakery, Confectionately Yours.
“We’ve been known to be one of the most segregated cities in the United States, and I think it does come with the territory, unfortunately,” Smith said, according to Black Enterprise. “With the support of the collaborative organizations that do not see color, but they just see genuine people with genuine gifts and talents that can be successful coming together, then we can make that narrative louder.”
For a city considered to be the most segregated and worst destination for Black women to find economic opportunity, Sherman Phoenix is a life raft for minority entrepreneurs.
“We had the ideas around having a space that is nurturing,” said Sherman Phoenix co-owner and founder of The Juice Kitchen, JoAnne Johnson-Sabir. “But we really didn’t have the understanding around how brilliant and magnificent, what a significant offering this would be to our neighbors.”
Founded by Johnson-Sabir and Juli Kaufmann, the neighborhood-friendly collective is located in Sherman Park, an area riddled with unrest. However, the organization hopes to uplift local spirits amid the ashes of violence by bringing in revenue and giving African Americans access to resources, such as funding.
