New Address: Two Embarcadero Center, 8th floor, San Francisco, CA 94111     

Bosko and Maya Kante, ElectroSpit

Pioneering music technology company ElectroSpit makes the world’s only lightweight, fully-portable, tubeless talkbox. This technology allows musicians to play various instrumental sounds and voices through their mouth. This creates a unique ability to “sing” with limitless range and creativity. Every device is hand-crafted at the company’s headquarters in West Oakland, California, a historically Black community.

Bernadette Aguirre, INA Botanicals & Tea

Bernadette Aguirre is a first-generation Filipina American from San Francisco, California. She is the founder of INA Botanicals & Tea, an herbal and specialty tea company that is dedicated to supporting personal growth and wellness. 

Milagros Escuela, MamaArepas

Milagros Escuela is the owner of MamaArepas, along with her husband, Fidel Lozada. They have worked tirelessly to bring Venezuelan Arepas to every dining table in South Florida since 2015. Made out of corn dough, Arepa is a typical food in several Latin American countries. It is different in each region and is very important in the traditional Venezuelan cuisine.

Jose Mendoza, FiestaBowls

FiestaBowls, located between 18th and 19th streets, is an example of the tenacity of the Mission’s business community. In challenging times, this community found ways to carry on in the pursuit of their dreams. This year, the Mexican snack business was one of the initial recipients of a loan from the Racial Equity Lens (REL) fund. 

Xiomara Rosa-Tedla & Dagne Tedla, UnoEth

After a trip to Ethiopia to visit family, Dagne Tedla brought a leather messenger bag as a gift for his daughter Xiomara. After countless compliments and inquiries from friends and strangers about the bag, Dagne suggested the two should start a business. Initially, Xiomara resisted as she was focusing on her corporate career and busy personal life. Soon after, friends and co-workers asked when Dagne was heading back to Ethiopia and asked if they could place pre-orders!

Lashawnda Scaccianoce, Delight Your Senses

Lashawnda Scaccianoce has been passionate about food and feeding people since she was young. In fact, she was only 11 years old when she had her first catering “job”. As a mother of 5 children, she has always participated in her community. She has served on school PTOs and volunteered with various community-based organizations, including the Rotary and Children’s Services Network. In her previous career, she was a pre-school and substitute teacher.

Mina Wilcox, Art Mina

Mina Wilcox comes from a long line of entrepreneurs. Her grandfather was a printmaker, and her parents ran a restaurant in Japan. So, with her husband’s encouragement of her artistic abilities, and despite the challenges of having English as her second language, she decided to open her own business in 2014. Art Mina features her beautiful hand-printed artwork on California Eco-Friendly items.

Tana Harris, Harris Hoisting

Tana Harris had been in the construction industry for nearly 20 years when she started thinking about starting her own business. In 2013, she attended Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center’s introductory business class. What started as just an idea came to fruition as Harris Hoisting, the only African-American woman owned hoisting company in the city of San Francisco.

Wanda Blake, Wanda’s Cooking

Wanda Blake’s cooking apprenticeship started in her mother’s kitchen. It then continued in the kitchens of great aunts, aunties, grandmas, and cousins. In 1981, Wanda attended City College of San Francisco to study hotel and restaurant management. In 2015, she launched Wanda’s Cooking.