In the News
August 5, 2024
Huge news for Birmingham! The City of Birmingham has received a $20M “Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program” grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA).
August 1, 2024
Business leaders decided “enough is enough” about lack of growth and equitable opportunities in Birmingham, Ala., J. W. Carpenter, president of Prosper, tells WorkingNation Overheard at JFF Horizons.
July 11, 2024
Three Birmingham-based organizations are partnering in the spirit of Juneteenth to pursue their mission of ensuring every resident in Birmingham has access to high-quality internet.
May 31, 2024
As employers grapple to find workers with the skills they need, they are also being challenged to adapt to technological changes. The talent shortage, by the numbers, is staggering according to a 2024 survey by Manpower. It finds three out of four employers worldwide report difficulty…
May 21, 2024
What started for Lemar Storey as a mobile business in 2010 has metamorphosed into the thriving Life Touch Massage brand offering massage services in two brick and mortar locations along with additional health…
May 14, 2024
TechBirmingham is collaborating with gener8tor, a nationally ranked venture capital firm and accelerator, to align two tech-focused conferences to take place in downtown Birmingham during the same week in June.
April 22, 2024
TechBirmingham today announced a collaboration with venture capital firm gener8tor to align Sloss Tech with a healthcare technology conference that will take place the same week in the Magic City.
April 18, 2024
Five health-related tech startups will receive $60,000 each as part of the Prosper Healthtech Accelerator, a Birmingham-based accelerator that’s part of gener8tor.
April 17, 2024
Every day, Carter Wells is excited to come into work and watch some of the smartest people in Alabama solve some of the world’s biggest problems.
March 1, 2024
In 2023, Birmingham became the nation’s first city selected to host a regional version of the nationwide Catalyze Challenge, which has already awarded $10 million to more than 40 organizations.
February 28, 2024
It’s Sunday morning. Kenya Staples takes her time with her skincare routine, indulging in the simple luxury of self care. Gospel music travels through the rooms of her home as she whispers affirming words in the mirror.
February 22, 2024
Our very own Mayor Randall Woodfin, among other leaders from Birmingham’s nonprofit community, is Austin, Texas bound!
These Birminghamians were invited to speak at SXSW EDU—the education portion of the well-known tech and music festival.
February 21, 2024
Big news! Southern Communities Initiative (SCI) announced a collaboration with Google that will expand opportunities for Black Americans in four of its six target cities. And, you guessed it—Birmingham is one of them.
January 28, 2024
Herban Soul Café, owned by Alexis Kimbrough, specializing in healthy herbal tea, is set to open its first brick-and mortar location inside the Woodlawn Marketplace on Saturday, February 10.
December 29, 2023
Every Friday night in the early 70s, one could find Theuda Nmosa Tusajiwe and a friend dancing with big afro puffs in handmade bell bottoms, crop tops with bell sleeves, halter…
December 28, 2023
From the outside, the gray brick building in Birmingham’s Woodlawn neighborhood is unassuming. Upon entering, the space becomes a time machine.
December 14, 2023
A health care technology company with a focus on the working uninsured is finding its footing in the Magic City after a recent relocation from Atlanta.
December 12, 2023
Big news! Southern Communities Initiative (SCI) announced a collaboration with Google that will expand opportunities for Black Americans in four of its six target cities. And, you guessed it—Birmingham is one of them.
December 6, 2023
REV Birmingham this week announced the first round of Black business owners who will receive funding and professional services through its Magic City Match program powered by Prosper.
November 8, 2023
Corey Bishop is not your average entrepreneur. That’s evident immediately upon entrance to his vibrant and inviting Five Points West flagship Refresh…
October 26, 2023
Birmingham, Alabama is a city with a legacy. It’s a legacy of Black perseverance in the Deep South, and of civil rights successes forged through trauma.
October 24, 2023
On October 5, 2023, I visited Corey Bishop’s shop, Refresh Clothing in Five Points West-Ensley. As I entered the store, I felt the welcoming atmosphere of the shop and Mr. Corey Bishop. I appreciated the presence of someone who was hands-on with his customers and that’s…
October 24, 2023
A Birmingham-based gener8tor accelerator has appointed a new leader to its team.
Prosper Healthtech Accelerator tapped Amanda Williams as its new program manager.
October 24, 2023
With an election year upon us, the pace of policymaking in Washington, D.C. will soon grind to a halt. As a Hill staffer, I used to joke that the pace of policymaking was inversely correlated with the renaming of…
October 21, 2023
An idea born in Texas when a family member was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes evolved into a healthtech startup that now calls Birmingham home.
October 16, 2023
Good works from Birmingham area companies and news from the metro’s nonprofits.
October 9, 2023
The grants will be awarded in two rounds in 2023 and 2024.
October 8, 2023
Alabama Launchpad unveiled the 10 finalists to participate in Cycle 3 2023.
The finalists will compete for a combined $75,000 at a public finale scheduled to take place Dec. 7 in Hoover.
October 5, 2023
Five fast-growing startups from across the country have been selected to receive a $60,000 investment each and participate in the Birmingham-based Prosper Healthtech Accelerator.
October 2, 2023
A startup that recently relocated to Birmingham has secured an investment.
Greens by Xplosion Technology unveiled it nabbed a combined investment of $220,000 from Techstars and Innovate Alabama.
September 18, 2023
Magic City Match is an initiative led by REV Birmingham and powered by Prosper to match Black-owned businesses with Birmingham brick-and-mortar spaces where they can thrive.
September 12, 2023
With the support of Xplosion Technology, Greens is the creation of founders Kehlin Swain, Isis Ashford and Jaylen James, PhD. The founders credit the foundation laid by gener8tor, Prosper and supportive community…
August 28, 2023
MCM invested $500,000 in 13 Birmingham, Black-owned businesses. The goal was to help move them get brick-and-mortar buildings and scale.
August 22, 2023
As Birmingham works to cement its growing national reputation as a center for healthcare innovation, a prominent healthcare business accelerator…
July 12, 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic came with a lot of difficult decisions. For some, vaccination was a no-brainer. For others, it required contemplating personal values, community and health…
July 5, 2023
Looking to support Black-owned businesses here in Birmingham? Read on to learn more about PolarisBHM, FLOWBHM and Herban Soul Café—three Black-owned businesses that just might be what you’re looking for.
Regions Bank is dedicated to fostering the growth of Black-owned Businesses…
May 3, 2023
From creating jobs to offering diverse products that enrich the local economy, small businesses play a huge role in the community. Small Business Week is designed to provide Birmingham’s small businesses…
April 13, 2023
Not only has Angela Abdur-Rasheed, Communications and Community Engagement Director for Prosper Birmingham long been a champion of connecting people…
April 7, 2023
Regions Bank on Thursday announced the launch of a new initiative designed to support, complement and advance work that is under way to foster more Black-owned businesses in the bank’s headquarters city.
April 6, 2023
Birmingham’s Regions Bank is launching a new program to help Black-owned businesses in the Magic City. The Birmingham Black-Owned Business Initiative will improve access to funding…
June 2, 2023
Birmingham’s Prosper HealthTech Accelerator (PHTA) is showcasing five female-owned companies on June 6 as part of its Spring 2023 Premier Night at the city’s Avenue D event space…
February 23, 2023
Prosper, a Birmingham-based nonprofit, on Thursday launched “Operation: Backing Black Businesses”, an initiative connecting entrepreneurs and business owners in the Birmingham area to the resources they need to excel…
January 23, 2023
Magic City Newsmakers includes notable awards, anniversaries, news and other tidbits about Birmingham businesses and nonprofits.
January 11, 2023
Prosper’s HealthTech Accelerator connects health technology startups to the coaching, capital and connections they need to build and grow their businesses.
![BBJ](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/BBJ.jpg)
January 9, 2023
The new members include a local CEO, executives and more.
![Black-owned businesses
getting boost with local… Black-owned businesses
getting boost with local...](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Rectangle-46.png)
March 1, 2022
REV Birmingham, IGNITE Alabama, Urban Impact and Prosper are working together to bring capital into Black-owned businesses.
![New grant program to give $500,000 to Birmingham Black-owned businesses New grant program to give $500,000 to Birmingham Black-owned businesses](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Rectangle-48.png)
March 1, 2022
A new grant program funded by Prosper Birmingham and presented by REV Birmingham, IGNITE! Alabama and Urban Impact Inc.
![New grant program to give $500,000 to Birmingham Black-owned businesses New grant program to give $500,000 to Birmingham Black-owned businesses](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Rectangle-48.png)
February 26, 2022
Prosper Birmingham is now funding a grant program that will give $500,000 for Black-owned businesses in Birmingham.
The program, called Magic City Match…
![bus in a colorful road tunnel bus in a colorful road tunnel](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Rectangle-28-1.png)
February 25, 2022
Prosper and Acclinate™, Birmingham community builders, are all about health equity. So to create a smoother path to health and wellness, these two companies partnered to create B-Included, an online website…
![NEW grant program, Magic
City Match helps… NEW grant program, Magic
City Match helps...](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Rectangle-30.png)
February 25, 2022
Magic City Match is all about increasing the chances for Black-owned businesses to thrive. They offer business competency courses, provide access to capital and give new market opportunities to Black business owners…
![How Black-Owned
Businesses in Birmingham… How Black-Owned
Businesses in Birmingham...](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Rectangle-47-1.png)
February 25, 2022
A new grant program funded by Prosper Birmingham and presented by REV Birmingham, IGNITE! Alabama and Urban Impact Inc. will distribute $500,000 to help grow Black-owned businesses in the Magic…
February 22, 2022
A local nonprofit is bringing in a national firm to produce a report on how the local Black-business ecosystem looks and what we can do to improve it.
![Prosper announces a plan to
launch NEW black… black female designer on her laptop in a design studio](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Rectangle-32-1.png)
February 3, 2022
That’s right, Prosper is getting ready to transform the community by creating a more prosperous and equitable future with this report on Black-owned businesses in Birmingham. Keep reading for more details…
January 26, 2022
Following a competitive application process, 21 Birmingham small businesses have been selected to participate in the Birmingham Business Alliance’s Supplier Scale program, which provides …
![acclinate-and-prosper-partner-on-new-platform Acclinate, Prosper partner on new platform aimed at reducing health disparities](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/acclinate-and-prosper-partner-on-new-platform.png)
January 12, 2022
Birmingham nonprofit Prosper and startup Acclinate have partnered to create a new portal aimed at reducing minority health disparities.
![prosper-is-launching-a-new-advisory-board Prosper launching a community advisory board](https://prosperbham.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/prosper-is-launching-a-new-advisory-board.png)
January 3, 2022
A local organization has formed a new advisory board centered on community engagement.