How the Small Business Empowerment Center Uplifts St. Louis Entrepreneurs

March 11, 2026

Small Business Empowerment Center employees and clients.

Shelia Hudson, Kalonda Kent, Monica Campbell, Deborah James, Lakesha Mathis, Freddie James, Kevin Wilson, and Shawna Collier at a panel discussion about the impact of the Small Business Empowerment Center.

When Kalonda Kent worked for the state government, she felt constrained in her ability to serve the community. So she and her business partner started Under Grace Home Health Agency to assist St. Louis residents with daily care needs. But when Kent looked for funding to start a second business, she was encouraged to first clean up her credit by Shawna Collier, who later joined the Small Business Empowerment Center as a business development specialist.

“I knew you needed credit, but I didn’t think my credit was that bad,” Kent said. “We didn’t learn those things in our community. They didn’t teach us those things growing up, in a lot of our schools … and how they can damage your opportunities.”

The Small Business Empowerment Center (SBEC) provided Kent with guidance on how to grow her businesses and be seen as a potential investment rather than a risk. Kent has since added a commissary kitchen, a healthy meal delivery service, home health adult day programs, a family-friendly gaming hub, and a nonprofit to her portfolio.

Kalonda Kent, Shelia Hudson, and Monica Campbell share their experience working with the Small Business Empowerment Center.

“The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well here in St. Louis City, and we want to cultivate that,” Kevin Wilson, executive director of SBEC, said. “Folks that grew up here, live here, want to start businesses here and stay here. They want to create a vibrant St. Louis. I think small businesses are a major component of that.”

Since its founding in 2010, SBEC has served more than 1,000 entrepreneurs — many of them women, veterans, and other individuals from underrepresented backgrounds — through a mix of business coaching, classes, and access to capital. These resources help business owners gain confidence and scale their small businesses, adding vital jobs to the St. Louis economy.

SBEC aims to be a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs as they deal with the day-to-day challenges of running small businesses. Kent, who describes herself as a forever student, signs up for as many seminars as she can through SBEC to keep learning and finding takeaways for her businesses. She also appreciates SBEC’s efforts to help entrepreneurs avoid predatory lending practices and encourages other business owners to find similar support.

“Get with an organization such as Small Business Empowerment that can truly help you see where you are currently, where you want to be, set those short-term, long-term goals with, have that mentorship, have the guidance and structure that you need to be aligned correctly with future opportunities for your business,” Kent said. “Don’t do it on your own.”

Small Business Empowerment Center Executive Director Kevin Wilson speaking about the Small Business Empowerment Center's mission.

In 2025, JSMF made a $1.9 million investment in SBEC to grow its staff and establish a revolving loan fund that provides working capital to underrepresented entrepreneurs. The grant was one of several major initiatives that supported SBEC’s work in funding and advising dozens of small businesses last year.

“I don’t think the Small Business Empowerment Center has all the answers,” Wilson said. “It is with our partners we’re able to help our clients get the resources they need to be successful. I think they have brilliant ideas. They have good businesses. What they need is access to capital that is reasonably priced, that they can grow their business, that they can gain access to opportunities like federal contracts and commercial contracts. And our partners help us do that.”

Wilson cited work with Greater St. Louis Inc., the St. Louis Community Credit Union, the Small Business Administration, and the St. Louis Development Corporation, among other partner organizations that collaborate to bring a continuity of services to local small business owners like Kent.

“This is an organization that is truly dedicated to this region,” Wilson said of SBEC. “We’re not the solution — we’re a part of the solution. And we want to be a great partner and collaborator in this great work of economic development in this region.”