A new company is working to build a Web3 marketplace aimed at assisting Black women entrepreneurs in reaching their business goals.
Founded by former bankers Lyndsae’ Peele and Casey Ariel, Zubachee is a metaverse ecosystem with goals of becoming a go-to resource for Black women businesses owners.
Funding Gap
A key element of the company’s work is assisting Black women founders with funding. There remains a major gap when it comes to funding access for Black founders. Black women entrepreneurs specifically face the biggest challenges when attempting to raise capital for their businesses.
In an interview with Technical.ly, Peele said Zuchabee aims to combat this funding gap with its use of tokenizing capital.
“Our goal is not to replace traditional financial institutions but rather to complement them,” Peele said. “We recognize the importance of banking partnerships, as they provide access to valuable information for our members. Collaborating with banking partners will allow us to educate entrepreneurs about Web3 and how the metaverse can support their businesses. We hope for it to be a symbiotic relationship where we can leverage their resources to empower and guide our members effectively.”
Zuchabee is also looking to build a larger metaverse community of Black women looking to build stronger connections and share resources with their fellow entrepreneurs.
“We are aware of the numerous accelerators, workshops and resources available for entrepreneurs to access,” Peele said. “However, many of these options are outdated and do not effectively cater to our cultural needs. The information being disseminated often lacks representation from individuals who can truly resonate with Black women in business.”
Zuchabee received financial support through a crowdfunding campaign. The campaign was led by the Kiva micro-lending site and raised $9,500 through 414 lenders.
“Like many startups, we initially relied on bootstrapping — still do — and using funds from our own businesses,” Peele said. “However, we were fortunate to receive support through a successful crowdfunding campaign, which provided a valuable push.”