African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin

The Chamber provides opportunities for members promotion and publicity, a voice in government, networking events and opportunities and customer referrals. The facility provides a co-working space for members. In addition, the Chamber has a revolving loan fund that is designed to increase access to capital for existing and new minority businesses, while developing partnerships within the business community. Kiva u.s. is an international non-profit that enables financially excluded and socially impactful entrepreneurs to access 0% interest small business loans of up to $10k.in partnership with lisc, the Chamber provides grants to small businesses.

Rise mke powered by mortar - a 14-week entrepreneurial training program designed to ensure that emerging businesses don't start blindly, providing business development with a focus on marketing, branding, business network development, and other essential resources. Rise was adapted from the highly successful cincinnati based minority business accelerator program called mortar. The African American Chamber has formed a strategic partnership between lisc milwaukee and the milwaukee urban league as a component of the ramp up project. Rise curriculum will focus on enabling underserved entrepreneurs through education, guidance, and mentorship. Spur - capacity building intensive workshop series design based on research from the federal reserve about the needs and critical issues of small businesses. There are three primary components 1)workshop sessions; 2)small group advisory roundtables; 3)targeted networking sessions. The program is designed to provide small businesses with focused customized training and networking opportunities that address their specific needs.