Woman Giving Away Probono Legal Support To Black-Led Startups Joins Forces With Fintech Firm – NorthOne

Angela Majette, a Bronx native, worked as a legal consultant for years before launching her own organization dedicated to helping her community.

Her years of experience in the field allowed her to witness firsthand the struggles Black founders on their entrepreneurship journey experienced when it came to getting good counsel for a reasonable price.

The struggles experienced by minorities – especially the Black community is what led her to launch Black Connect, an organization that aims to support Black-owned businesses with pro bono legal support and establish solid legal footing. 

Launched at the start of the pandemic, Black Connect reports that they’ve helped 1,800 Black business owners and provided them $25,000 in funding. 

The initiative came at a pivotal time, especially since reports have highlighted that Black-owned small businesses were locked out of PPP loans and grants at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

According to Vox, 23 percent of Black business owners who did not receive PPP or Economic Injury Disaster Loans said their PPP applications were denied, compared to 9 percent of white business owners, 13 percent of Latino business owners, and 9 percent of Asian American business owners.

Angela has recently joined forces with NorthOne, a fintech startup to help offer free financial services, in addition to legal support through Black Connect. 

The Fed’s 2019 Report on Employer Firms Small Business Credit Survey found that fewer than 1-in-4 Black-owned employer firms have a recent borrowing relationship with a bank.

This number drops to 1-in-10 among Black non-employer firms, compared with 1-in-4 white-owned non-employer firms.

According to the Fed report, survey evidence also indicated that Black-owned firms apply for financing at equal or higher rates than white-owned firms but are denied at higher rates.