The Women LLC helps to open doors for black business owners

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — After noticing a lack of economic resources for African American startups, six Knoxville women have come together to make change. Tanika Harper, Deidra Harper, Kanika White, Angela Dennis, Dasha Lundy, and Kelle Jolly founded The Women LLC. Their mission is to create avenues for financing small business expansions and startups. All […]

Blue Sky Workshop

Flat lay of business agenda

We invite everyone to attend Pathway Lending’s Blue Sky Workshop. Afterward, you can receive free 1:1 Business Counseling. Pathway’s mission is to provide a forum for training, education, and peer learning that supports and accelerates the growth of women-owned businesses and strengthens their impact upon the economy. They achieve this by providing a wide range […]

100Knoxville

Visit 100Knoxville.com, an initiative with a goal of increasing the revenues of Black-owned firms with paid employees in Knoxville by $10,000,000 by 2025.

Meet Kanika White

Kanika was born in Louisiana and raised in New Orleans and Atlanta. She studied real estate development and finance at the University of New Orleans, holds an associate degree in business administration from Southeastern College. She has certifications in urban planning and affordable housing compliance.  She is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the […]

Meet Dr. Dasha Lundy

Dr. Dasha Lundy is serving her first term as the District 1 Commissioner for the Knox County Commission. Dr. Lundy is a visionary leader as a servant leader and community advocate.  She was born and raised in East Knoxville and still calls it home.   She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chemistry from […]

Meet Tanika Harper

Tanika Harper, is an entrepreneur, owning four small businesses, Elite Facility Maintenance and Harper’s Naturals being two of them. She’s also Founder/CEO of Shora Foundation located in Knoxville, TN. Shora was founded in 2008 and their mission is to provide a safe place culture for those in under-resourced areas by creating opportunities and transforming communities. […]

Meet Deidra Harper

Deidra Harper, a local Knoxville native, is an entrepreneur owning Elite Facility Maintenance and a Freelancer who focuses on Graphic Design. She’s also the public relations director for TENSE Summit, TENSE stands for Teaching to Eliminate Negative Stereotypes through Education,is a group of business owners and other professionals dedicated to empowering and educating youth. She’s […]

Women-run org loans $6K to Black-owned businesses

An organization committed to supporting Knoxville’s Black owned businesses has issued its first round of microloans. J3 Entertainment, Meik Meals and Hairston’s Naturals each received a $2,000 interest-free loan from The Women Foundation this month. “I was overjoyed. I’m still kind of overwhelmed,” said Chris Neal, owner of J3 Entertainment. “As time has gone on, […]

Knoxville Black Business Directory

Knoxville’s Black Business Directory is now live at www.knoxvilleblackbusiness.com. The directory was created for both locals and travelers to quickly identify Black businesses to support in the greater Knoxville area. The founder, Damon Rawls, is encouraging people to use the hashtag #BuyBlackKnoxin to increase awareness of the effort to shop and support Black Businesses in […]