Young Female Entrepreneur Makes “Buying Black” Easier

Official Black Wall Street Mobile App Launched

New York, NY (BlackNews.com) — Brooklyn, NY-based entrepreneur Mandy Bowman found it frustrating that only 2 percent of the Black community’s $1.1 trillion buying power was being spent with Black businesses. So in 2014 the 26-year-old did something about it. She created a web-based platform what has been tapped as the “Black yelp,” and it has been getting more and more popular.

Official Black Wall Street features more than 1,900 listings by Black-owned businesses and is currently crowdfunding to create an Official Black Wall Street app. Since its inception, Official Black Wall Street has grown to over 110K engaged followers across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Bowman believes this is the next step to reaching economic empowerment and combating many of the injustices that occur in our community. Once fully funded, the new app will give users the ability to find local black-owned businesses on the go with full listings, advanced Google maps, ratings, reviews, directions, and special offers to further incentivize users to buy Black. Users will also be able to receive news, learn about events, and visit forums to help exchange resources and business tips.

The Kickstarter campaign hopes to raise $30,000 for app development.

“This is something I really believe in and I know it will have a major financial impact on our community. After all of the tragic events that have affected us lately, from Philando Castile to Alton Sterling, it is extremely important for us to protest with our money,” Bowman said. “We’ve learned through history that policies are changed when bottom lines are impacted. The Official Black Wall Street app will undoubtedly take this movement to another level.”

Photo:  Mandy Bowman, founder of the Official Black Wall Street app