ShopKeep, a top-rated tablet-to-cloud commerce platform chosen by tens of thousands of independent retailers and restaurants, announced the launch of ShopKeep R.I.S.E. (Reinvesting in Small-Business Equality), a new initiative designed to make funding more accessible to minority-owned businesses. Born out of a desire to close existing racial disparities in obtaining small business capital, R.I.S.E. offers no-fee, no-interest cash advances to minority-owned business owners to help their businesses grow.
“While we must all make decisions about the types of actions we take as individuals, we believe it’s also critical for the business community to take a stand and to take action where it can make a difference,” said Michael DeSimone, CEO of ShopKeep. “With the creation of this special fund we are taking sustainable action to help drive real and impactful change.”
The R.I.S.E program will award a total of $250,000 in funding on a rolling basis. Eligible ShopKeep customers can apply to receive an advance of $1,000 to $10,000.
Businesses that qualify for funding through ShopKeep R.I.S.E. are small businesses that:
- Meet the criteria for minority-owned or controlled business. For the purposes of this program, a minority group member is an individual who is at least 25% Asian, Black, Hispanic, or Native American as defined by the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
- Use ShopKeep as their sole point of sale.
- Actively process transactions with ShopKeep Payments. Non-ShopKeep Payments customers can still apply for a R.I.S.E. advance and switch if approved for the program.
- Are based in the United States and majority-owned by a U.S. citizen.
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