In honor of National Women’s Small Business Month, we want to introduce you to the woman who is changing the narrative around Black-owned businesses—Mandy Bowman, CEO of Official Black Wall Street.
Always dialed into the businesses in her Brooklyn neighborhood, Mandy found inspiration in other entrepreneurs who looked like her and knew that’s what she wanted to be from the age of 13. She took her desire to support local businesses and give them the support they deserved by recommending Black-owned businesses—first on a simple spread sheet, then on social media, then through a blog/website, and now on a new mobile app, Official Black Wall Street.
She was awarded the a grant from Mastercard and Fearless Fund and has used that money to create what her community has been craving—an app that features her curated list of Black-owned businesses. “As a Black woman, it’s great to have Mastercard in my corner. Their digital doors program has given us the tools we needed to thrive and grow online,” she says. And she is using all those tools to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs, “It’s a good feeling to see another generation doing even greater things because of what we’re doing today. I hope there is a little girl out there watching me and that she goes on to do even better.”
Check out mastercard.com/smallbiz to learn more about how Mastercard is helping small businesses like Mandy reach their goals.
