RISE Challenge: Winners Announced for Competition to Empower Entrepreneurs of Color

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Prosperity Now, an organization that promotes racial and ethnic equity, recently announced the winners of the RISE Challenge, a competition designed to empower and uplift entrepreneurs of color by harnessing the power of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).

The winners were revealed at the 2024 Prosperity Summit that took place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, from Sept. 3-6.

The RISE Challenge is a centerpiece of the Entrepreneurship Accelerator, a groundbreaking partnership between Prosperity NOW, Avanade and Accenture. The competition plays a pivotal role in advancing equitable lending practices by empowering CDFIs to make more informed and just lending decisions, ultimately fueling the growth of entrepreneurs of color by providing access to capital, resources, and customized solutions for their unique challenges.

Winners of the RISE Challenge were awarded three prizes to help them further develop and scale their groundbreaking solutions: $75,000 for the first-place winner, $50,000 for the second-place winner, and $25,000 for the third-place winner.

• Bianca J. Jackson, chief innovation officer at BrickRose Exchange, took first place for her groundbreaking work addressing Black disinvestment. 
• Jocelyn Walters, head of Partnerships at Next Street, and Lukas Haffer, CEO & co-founder of Casca secured second place for their pioneering solution to improve loan assistance and identification.
• Vernisha Williams, Strategic Partnerships manager at Centro Community Partners, earned third place for her creation of a scalable artificial intelligence hub.

“The RISE Challenge is centered around a critical question: How can we harness the power of CDFIs to more effectively support entrepreneurs of color,” said Marisa Calderon, president and CEO of Prosperity Now. “The solutions that RISE challenge winners presented today will help to further the goal of discovering and nurturing groundbreaking strategies that can bridge the racial and ethnic wealth gap by fostering entrepreneurial success and economic resilience in communities of color.”