GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Kalamazoo-based organization is providing resources and opportunities for Black and Brown women in the world of entrepreneurship.
When Alisa Parker-LaGrone and Nicole Parker decided to host a brunch in Dec. 2017, the sisters didn’t expect the idea to blossom into a full-blown business.
“We had our first brunch in Dec. 2017, and 50 women came,” Nicole Parker said. “And we thought we would just do quarterly brunches to create space and from there we had our second one. Over 100 women came. We surveyed them, we asked them what their needs were, which has led to us doing pitch competitions because we needed access to funding.”
Since then, the nonprofit Sisters in Business has continued to make a concerted effort to help women through partnerships with other organizations.
“We partner with an organization in Kalamazoo called Black Wall Street, where we provide an entrepreneurship academy, where we take people through learning to build their business, grow their business,” Parker LaGrone said. “Both education and funding.”
The organization is also partnering with a West Michigan city.
“We partnered with the city of Battle Creek,” Nicole Parker said. “And now the work that we’re doing with our black entrepreneurship training academy, to be able to support businesses year round and equip them with the necessary tools and resources that they need.”
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