About Our Organization
The Waterbury Black Business Network (WBBN) is a nonprofit Entrepreneur Support Organization (ESO) serving Black and Brown entrepreneurs, established business owners, early-stage founders, creatives, and emerging professionals across Greater Waterbury, Connecticut.
Pillars of Service
Our work is organized across three core pathways: Education, Visibility, and Capital. Two commitments, Advocacy and Access and Belonging, run through everything we do.
Education
The Blackprint Institute is the educational arm of WBBN. Through cohort-based programming, workshops, and learning experiences, the Institute equips entrepreneurs and professionals with the strategy, financial literacy, operational tools, and business acumen they need to build sustainable enterprises. Our flagship cohort program, the Blackprint Business Fellowship, brings together a select group of Fellows for an intensive learning experience grounded in real-world application and community responsibility.
Visibility
Visibility is access. When Black and Brown businesses are seen, supported, and celebrated, the entire ecosystem strengthens. WBBN creates platforms that elevate our community through signature events including the annual Juneteenth Festival, the CTRL+Black Creative Entrepreneur Convention, the Black Health and Wellness Providers Fair, and business expos that connect entrepreneurs with customers, partners, and institutional decision-makers.
Capital
Capital flow is at the heart of economic mobility. WBBN moves dollars directly into the hands of entrepreneurs through the Kinfolk Fund, a member-funded source of emergency and business improvement grants, and through funded pitch competitions and partnerships with financial institutions committed to investing in our community.
Our Community Partners
