Our mission is to sow economic mobility + vision expansion into educational experiences for young people across the Twin Cities through early-onset entrepreneurial training workshops, experiences, and seed funding. We nurture pathways for BIPOC business ownership not only to equitably exist, but further, be successful, fundable, profitable, and sustainable.
Join us in unlocking our vision to build a movement of “emancipative mobility” in education by offering access to entrepreneurial education to young people. These paradigm shifts within the educational ecosystem will lead to greater pathways out of intergenerational poverty and support equity in the educational outcomes of Twin Cities youth.
Sown Emancipation was founded in 2021 by Howard University graduate, Maliza Kalema. Her A former special education teacher, she decided that without entrepreneurial education we could not promise students, true liberation. So, she started sowing her own career mobility and economic freedom by starting a sewing business and store selling products, while developing as an entrepreneurial educator. The sewing business soon transformed into a “sowing” business centered around the idea of “emancipative mobility”. Today, Sown Emancipation offers free trainings, lesson plans, community workshops, and a variety of youth entrepreneurial initiatives across the Twin Cities to in real-time make youth entrepreneurship apart our present and not our future.
Early-onset Entrepreneurial pathways for BIPOC business creation.
Problems worth solving…
Lack of exposure to free and accessible early-onset entrepreneurial experiences causes achievement gaps for BIPOC entrepreneurs and business owners to exist, persist, and be successful.
Lack of curriculum and educational content to build business acumen, and training means we have no intentional framework for moving beyond workforce preparation and college access to facilitate economic empowerment and business ownership to work in tandem with the educational process.
We cannot afford to overlook the need for entrepreneurial education in school, library, and community settings.
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Free youth entrepreneurship and business development workshops, experiences, exposure, and training services.
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Launch business ideas and enterprises at Youth Business Fair Marketplaces and Vending Tables.
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Further develop and refine youth business enterprises through real-time experiences and exposure.
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Use profits and prizes to refine and grow your youth business idea or enterprise.
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Shark-tank style youth business pitch competitions to fund and file youth business for viable sustainability.
“Hydrate History” is our entrepreneurial curriculum & youth-led lemonade stand rooted in history and perseverance.
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ROOTS: OUR BACKGROUND STORY
“We got to the business of growing and sowing through lesson plans, school product launches, school + community report cards, scholarship initiatives, anything to help our kids know their power and potential. With each initiative, Sown Emancipation grew, and so did our kids.“
- Maliza Kalema, Sown Emancipation Founder
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LINK WITH US
We provide curriculum, events, and a wealth of tools to foster an entrepreneurial mindset in young people, helping them develop creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. Visit our Linktree to access our tools.
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Our Workshops
During our youth business workshops we learn real-time ways to turn ideas into business launches and real profits. Each workshop is stand-alone and helps to nurture further development of entrepreneurial skills and mindsets
“I wish I had Sown Emancipation when I was in school. It would have given me the guidance and resources I needed to start my own business at a young age.””