Friends support black business owners on Instagram

An Instagram account spotlighting black business owners in NWA has taken off in recent years.

What is happening: Jasmine (Jazz) Hudson and J’Aaron (Jae) Merchant launched Black-Owned NWA on Instagram and Black Business Directory of Northwest Arkansas on Facebook in March 2019.

• Over 11,000 people now follow the Instagram account, with about half as many followers on Facebook.

Driving the news: Black-owned businesses have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. One study reports that this is “in part because they were more likely to already be in a precarious position” and were more likely to be located in communities with poor business outcomes.

• Black-owned businesses in the United States are estimated to have declined by 41% between February and April 2020, at the very start of the pandemic.

Fund: The duo, who have been friends since 2013, started collaborating on an Instagram account — @jazzyjaenwa — in 2018 featuring food, art and fun.

• Followers started messaging them for information about black-owned businesses, Hudson told Axios.
• Because there was no comprehensive roster and few resources, they launched the black-owned NWA.

What they say : The accounts gave black business owners in the region more exposure and helped them network, Hudson said.

• Anecdotally, there is more visibility and connectivity between black homeowners and entrepreneurial lenders, like Kiva NWA or the FORGE Community Loan Fund, she told Axios.

Yes and: Hudson and Merchant are hosting the third annual Black-Owned Business Expo on Feb. 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will take place at the Apollo on Emma in Springdale.

• It is free and open to the public and will be an opportunity for people to meet black business owners and buy products.
• There will be music and food trucks. Hudson said it would be a “mini market party.”