Minority-Led

Prospect KC earns $10K grant from Jacques Pépin Foundation as Gumbo Fest set to return

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2025

A newly announced grant will be pivotal to advance The Prospect KC’s mission to empower lives, disrupt poverty, and cultivate community through culinary education, said chef and founder Shanita McAfee-Bryant. The $10,000 grant from The Jacques Pépin Foundation (JPF) is one of 16 recently awarded to organizations that use culinary arts to enhance lives and…

Meet KCSourceLink’s trio of ‘navigators’ now embedded in KC business support hubs

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2025

A new initiative from KCSourceLink that places three experienced business leaders in strategic locations across Kansas City will help aspiring entrepreneurs better connect with the resources and answers they need to start and grow businesses and side hustles, said Becca Castro. “KCSourceLink is making it easier than ever for aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned business owners…

Lawmakers redeploy bill to boost veterans as entrepreneurs; targeting easier access to capital, credit

By Tommy Felts / February 18, 2025

Bipartisan legislation to help veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs overcome barriers on the home front is back in Congress, with backing from two area lawmakers who say the time is now to get resources to those who served. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, introduced the Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans (SERV) Act alongside…

Olathe restaurateur brings comfort food home from the Mediterranean (starting with falafel bowls)

By Tommy Felts / February 17, 2025

Summer Salem looked around her city for an authentic Mediterranean restaurant and found a gap in the Olathe marketplace. So a year ago she began planning one of her own. She teamed with her husband, Abraham, who also is a partner in a downtown Kansas City Mediterranean restaurant. But the recipes would be Summer’s own.…

How this founder’s hobby (plus a little trouble) became Oak Park retail incubator’s biggest success story 

By Tommy Felts / February 14, 2025

“Big Chunky Blankets” — soft as a baby’s cheek and custom knitted in any color of the rainbow — folded into the foundation of what would become Maryann Nzioki Hult’s resilient, nearly pandemic-proof foray into entrepreneurship. They put local Tabu Knits on the online map of must-have-items, and then became the seed of two Johnson…