At Official Black Wall Street, Black entrepreneurs are celebrated every day. August was National Black Business Month, and we took it one step further by recognizing and awarding the creative and innovative minds of these trailblazing individuals. Last month, Official Black Wall Street brought the return of the OBWS Black Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, presented by Clover.
Nominations began for the two available awards: OBWS Black Entrepreneur of the Year and OBWS Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Submissions closed with over 1,000 nominations. The finalists were then handpicked by a successful panel of judges. The group included Tasha Helm, a Director of Corporate Citizenship at Fiserv; Keewa Nurullah, a past BEOTYA 2021 winner and founder of Kido; and Abu Fofanah, the Managing Director of House of Fofanah. The list was rounded out by Official Black Wall Street founder, Mandy Bowman.
All nominees were judged against the same criteria that their business was, of course, Black-owned and operating for at least a year. The most important criterion, the one which would determine who received the associated cash prizes, was the impact of the entrepreneur and their business. The judges narrowed down thousands of applications into eight finalists.
The OBWS community spent four days voting on their favorite entrepreneurs of 2022.
The Social Entrepreneur of the Year winner, in partnership with Comcast RISE, went to Jerome Clark of In Good Conscience who will receive the $10,000 grant.
The grand prize of $15,000, sponsored by Clover, goes to Michelle Cadore, Frantz Farnoile, and Tyler Jordan of Da Spot NYC who won the Black Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The winners each have the creativity and innovation behind their brand, but their impact transcends that. These entrepreneurs are on a mission of growth, change, and enhancing Black lives.
Visit the OBWS Black Entrepreneur of the Year Awards page to learn more about the awards.
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