Tech-powered initiative aims to boost Black-owned firms

Related Stories June 21, 2024 June 21, 2024 June 7, 2024 June 7, 2024 May 17, 2024 Listen to this story Subscriber Benefit As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now Loading audio file, please wait. Speed1.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 Tamise Cross is a co-founder of P30 Indy at East 30th Street and Post Road. P30 is one of three coworking spaces benefiting from an Indy Biz Pass grant that allows Black entrepreneurs a deeply discounted membership for one year. (IBJ photo/Eric Learned) A group of Indianapolis-based organizations has come together to create Indy Biz Pass, which the organizations describe as a first-of-its-kind network designed to support local Black-owned businesses. “Nothing like this exists anywhere that we’ve seen around the country,” said Emil Ekiyor, founder and CEO of Indianapolis-based Innopower, the entity at the heart of the project. “People have different tools, but nothing has been customized for a specific demographic within a specific community.” The initiative’s centerpiece is IndyBizPass.com, a website that launched publicly this month. Supported by $440,000 in grant funding from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, it serves as a sort...