How Black Founders Are Shaping Memphis’ Economic Future

Despite immense pressure from every angle, a new wave of Black founders in Memphis is building tech-backed solutions to strengthen minority communities. Their mission is to solve daily struggles that many Black families know too well — challenges compounded in Memphis by high rates of eviction, poverty, and unemployment. “Many employees often struggle with money for gas, bills, or energy,” said Alfred Millian, the CEO of Express Wages, a Memphis-based fintech platform that provides same-day paycheck access. “Studies show earned wage access helps people manage money better.” Nearly 60% of U.S. workers are living paycheck to paycheck in 2025. Millian said biweekly pay is outdated. To modernize payroll, Millian launched Express Wages in January 2023, offering a platform free to employers, with a small fee to employees. He raised $1.2 million from family and friends, nearly $4 million in a seed round, and now plans a $50 million Series A within nine months. “We approached nearly every Black PE and VC fund and initially couldn’t get traction,” Millian said. “Less than 1% of fintech startups receive funding, so securing investors was a challenge. It’s a “chicken or the egg” problem — you need capital to generate revenue.” Finding Capital In The Delta Access to capital remains a major hurdle for Memphis entrepreneurs, with only two major venture capital firms in the city compared to 12 in Nashville, 11 in Tulsa, and six in Birmingham. Despite limited VC funding, Memphis-based companies have raised more than $5 million in the first half of 2025. Many founders leveraged Epicenter, an innovation center that helps founders launch venture-based companies and connect with resources. “VCs want to see density—a steady stream of startups—before they commit,” said Epicenter President and CEO Anthony Young. “The talent is already here; what’s been missing is capital and support.” Local leaders are ramping up startup growth through initiatives, like the “Digital Delta,” an urban-rural strategy linking Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi to support agriculture, healthcare, and logistics ventures. Epicenter offers accelerator programs, such as the ZeroTo510 Medical Device, Capital Readiness, Customer Readiness, and Patents2Products, a post-doc fellowship with the University of Memphis. Anchored by Fortune 500 companies FedEx, AutoZone, and International Paper and the home of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the local business landscape favors sustainable mobility, medical devices, and ag-tech. “If you’re building in logistics tech or advanced manufacturing, there’s no better place to be,” Mayor Paul Young told BLACK ENTERPRISE. “Revenue from contracts or pilots can be just as valuable as VC funding—it validates the business and raises valuations.” In June, Mayor Young dubbed Memphis an “Entrepreneurship City,” uniting local organizations, small-business programs, and business owners through digital storytelling, visibility campaigns, and expanded access to resources. “Our goal is to be a connector,” he said. “We started Entrepreneur City, ensuring entrepreneurs have the business tools and infrastructure to take their ideas to the next level.” AI In Innovation Beyond traditional startups, Memphis leaders are betting on emerging technologies like AI to drive future economic growth. In 2024, Elon Musk’s company xAI opened one of the world’s largest supercomputer facilities in Boxtown, a historically Black neighborhood in South Memphis. The facility trains the artificial intelligence GROK and operates using dozens of gas turbines. The $6-billion project has faced scrutiny. The NAACP and environmental groups filed an appeal in July, while Tennessee State Rep. Justin Pearson, who represents Boxtown, criticized the facility. “It’s an actual gas plant in the middle of a neighborhood and you don’t need any permitting?” Pearson said. “Something has failed drastically and significantly with our system of checks and balances.” He continued, “If you look at where these data centers are propping up, it’s always in poor communities.” xAI says it is in compliance with local laws and plans a second Memphis facility. While a recent University of Memphis study found no significant short- or long-term harm from the turbine emissions. “Data centers are coming globally. The question is: what value can they bring to the community?” Mayor Paul Young said. In response, Mayor Young directed 25% of city tax revenues from new facilities to adjacent neighborhoods totaling $3.2–$3.5 million annually, to support housing, parks, and public safety. City leaders emphasize that adapting to new technologies is essential to closing the wealth gap. “With AI and automation advancing so quickly, we can’t afford to be left behind,” said Anthony Young of Epicenter. “Logistics is core to Memphis, but many jobs could be replaced by robotics. We need to prepare our workforce now. If we’re not preparing Black and brown communities for the future, we’re failing them.” Women Leading The Way  As Memphis embraces emerging technologies, homegrown female innovators are driving breakthroughs in healthcare. Erika Dillard of Popcheck Technologies is building an AI-enabled remote-patient-monitoring wearable to predict surgical complications, while Erica Plybeah founded MedHaul to provide inclusive transportation services for marginalized patients. “People who previously couldn’t get to healthcare now have ways to connect to necessary resources,” said Mayor Young. “I believe these local innovators will shape the city’s future.” Women are driving economic growth in Memphis. Over half of the city’s entrepreneurs are women, according to EDGE, the Economic Development Growth Engine of Memphis and Shelby County.  EDGE supports small businesses with loans, assistance, and incentives, issuing about 120 forgivable loans totaling $2 million and generating $9 million in economic impact. “We also lead the nation in women-owned businesses, not by chance, but because the ecosystem supports them,” said EDGE CEO and President Joann Massey. “When women are empowered, families and communities thrive. That’s why I’m so passionate about supporting women entrepreneurs. Give us something to create, and we’ll birth it into something bigger.” Massey, the first Black and first woman to lead EDGE, credits her experiences as a lifelong Memphian for sharpening her community-rooted solutions. “For me, economic development is tied to civil rights. It’s about turning pain to resilience and resilience into opportunity,” she said. Tech founder Kontji Anthony is tackling another urgent challenge: food insecurity. About 32% of Memphis residents in 2021 lived in food deserts. As the nation’s largest majority-Black city at 67%, Memphis had the highest relative impact among major cities, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Kontji Anthony along with her sisters, Johnita and Aurora, created Youdle, an app that connects independent grocers directly to consumers in real time. Users earn points and rewards while boosting both store sales and loyalty. The beta version was released in late 2022. “By connecting local grocers — especially Black-owned businesses — to residents, we’re keeping dollars in the community while also improving access to food,” Kontji Anthony said. DRIVING INNOVATION IN MEMPHIS  Stuart Lott, CEO and president of Backbone Technologies, sees massive growth potential with 40,000 microbusinesses in Memphis. If each added just one employee, he said, the local job market could be transformed. “Memphis is special because of the authenticity, passion, grit, and hustle of our people,” Lott said. “We want to help entrepreneurs take that energy into business without financial management being a barrier. If we can get it tight in Memphis, we can replicate it in other cities.” Drawing on his experiences in small business banking and fintech, Lott saw that Black applicants were often denied funding, not for a lack of creditworthiness but for missing documentation. After two years of research, he launched Backbone Technologies, an easy-to-use financial management app designed for small businesses. The platform streamlines bookkeeping, accounting, invoicing, payment processing, and cash-flow management, all for under $50 a month. “Most Black businesses fail within two to five years,” he said. “Poor financial management is the root cause– missed capital opportunities, costly tax mistakes, and the inability to scale.” He bootstrapped about $250,000, raised $500,000 through RevTech Labs in Charlotte, and secured a $65,000 grant from Epicenter. The company is now in beta testing. Anthony Young emphasized Epicenter’s role in scaling founders like Lott: “We’re not just building companies—we’re building solutions tied to culture and lived experience,” said Young. “Together, these fuel innovation across the Delta.” RELATED CONTENT: Southern Trans Celebration Tackles Concerns Of National Guard Coming To Memphis, ‘What Does Safety Look Like’



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