Despite Black women being the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the US, 99% of those businesses will never raise venture capital.
Bags, a small business loan discovery and management platform, is aiming to help mitigate that disparity.
The Black-led company recently announced in a news release shared with Essence the closing of its $3M seed round.
The raise was led by Slauson & Co with participation from Connecticut Innovations and Schultz Family Foundation’s Entrepreneurs Equity Fund,
“Access to capital is a core part of long-term small business success, and our mission is to provide underserved businesses with a clear path to fair financing with the tools they need to manage it,” said said Bags CEO Daniel Taylor in a news release. “We help diverse folks avoid predatory lending by meeting them where they’re at, in a way that they relate to, and with what they need. Community, Culture, and Cash are at the center of all of our efforts, and we aim to ensure that millions of businesses can focus on building wealth and strengthening their local economies without worrying about where investment will come from.”
Launched in 2021, the company supports business owners with options to get 100% free access lending options ranging from $10K to $5M, with low-interest rates and flexible terms.
“The Bags team has a deep commitment to fair and flexible financing for millions of small businesses. They fill a key need that will enable small businesses to compete and serve the nuances of their communities,” said Austin Clements, Partner at Slauson & Co. “Bags achieves for small business owners what we aim to achieve as investors: economic inclusion and democratized access to entrepreneurship for underrepresented founders.”
The latest round brings total funding for Bags to $4M.