Minority-owned Omaha businesses growing beyond Nebraska border

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Donald McPherson’s North Omaha clothing store Styles of Evolution was inspired by a blouse once worn by his mother. “Things just evolve. Clothing evolves. What goes out of style, five years later is coming back. So Styles of Evolution was born.” What’s also evolving is the landscape of Omaha’s Black and minority businesses. A survey from the Brookings Institute shows that from 2017 to 2021, less than 1% of the Omaha metro and Lincoln’s Black population were business owners. “Access to capital is the number one, number two, number three problem,” said Karine Sokpoh, CEO of the Midlands African Chamber. The Midlands African Chamber is solving that problem with funding opportunities through their MAC Xcelerator and Pitch Black competition. Revive Omaha’s Black Business Network is doing the same alongside American National Bank. “After those conversations it evolved into launching a financial institution called Carver Legacy Financial Institution or Carver Legacy Center. It has really focused the last two or three years on making sure that we are investing money in those businesses,” said Willie Barney, co-owner of Revive Omaha. Both organizations are also creating expansion through relationships outside of Nebraska, including MAC’s connection to Atlanta’s Black...