Social entrepreneur Tim Lampkin began higher purpose co to cope with the racial wealth gap due to institutional racism and beneath-investment in black communities.
In 2016. Now his crew helps a vibrant and growing membership of black marketers, farmers. And artists throughout the region who’re, collectively, shifting financial outcomes of black communities in a sustained way. We spoke to him about how he and HPC are reimagining loan collateral. And business investment and growing network wealth, plus new trends on the horizon.
Ashoka: Tim, you live in an iconic area, the Mississippi delta. Are you able to inform us a piece about it?
Tim Lampkin: I’d like to. I’m proud to have been raised right here inside the Mississippi delta, its 18 counties within the northwest part of the nation. It’s on the whole flat lands with fertile soil, and agriculture stays our most important industry.
It’s also the birthplace of the blues. Many musicians, artists, and creatives stay here, some of them recognized all around the globe. It’s domestic to changemakers, innovators, and civil rights leaders who’ve fashioned this u. S. A ., like Fannie Lou Hammer, Aaron e. Henry, vera make pigee, Reubin Smith, Unita Blackwell, Isaiah t. Montgomery, many greater.
Ashoka: and also you began better purpose co. Here?
Lampkin: correct. Black residents are forty% of the population, making mississippi one of the blackest states within the united states of America. There’s progress yet to be made to close the gender and racial wealth gaps on institutional racism and under-funding in our groups.
So in 2016, we started HPC to get things transferring in a brand new route. We paintings with two hundred black entrepreneurs, farmers, and artists in our business club.
Most of our members perceive as black ladies, many of them single moms beginning groups to boom their month-to-month income. Our farmers are generally mature and enjoy less frequently young human beings due to the stigma of working on land related to the cotton enterprise and slavery artists in our club variety from photographers, painters, and musicians.