St. Louis-based BJC Healthcare has made an anchor investment in a local minority entrepreneur support company in a bid to raise generational wealth in underserved communities and reduce health disparities by doing so.
While BJC did not reveal the size of the investment in Wepower Capital, the funding is part of the healthcare system's 2022 Community Health Improvement strategic plan, which aims to eliminate health disparities in under-resourced communities.
"BJC's proactive approach to health and well-being focuses on the social and economic factors that are root causes of health inequities, and this includes investing in regional organizations like Wepower Capital," Christopher Nolan, BJC director of anchor initiatives, said in a statement. "Together we can work to close the racial wage and wealth gaps and help create generational wealth in Black and Latinx communities."
Wepower Capital provides Black and Latino business owners with financial as well as social and intellectual capital support to help build community wealth and power. The group primarily uses revenue-based investing, where entrepreneurs repay a fixed percentage of their revenue up to an agreed amount.
"BJC's investment is an enlightened choice," said Yori Blumberg, vice president of community wealth building at Wepower. "It reflects an understanding that investments can be used as a tool to advance equity.”