BeBe Design House
Fund supports BIPOC-owned businesses
Never let it be said that starting—or owning—a small business is easy. For BIPOC-owned businesses, however, even greater barriers, especially financing, can create challenges to helping those small businesses thrive.
The Diverse Erie Small Business Fund aims to eliminate such barriers while lifting up BIPOC-owned businesses. Created in 2022, the effort brought together private and public community partners to create a $2 million fund—which is housed and administered by the Enterprise Development Fund, an ECRDA affiliate.
After distributing initial loans in 2022, the Diverse Erie Small Business Fund continued its mission by supporting BIPOC-owned businesses in 2023. The fund supported business owner Nadia Shabanza-Pero in realizing her dream of opening an interior design studio.
The $200,000 loan from the Diverse Erie Small Business Fund allowed Shabanza-Pero to open BeBe Design House—named in honor of her mother— on Zuck Road in Millcreek Township. The business specializes in interior design for commercial, multi-family, residential and vacation properties.
Shabanza-Pero said the fund’s financial support has sparked “a transformative journey” for BeBe Design House.
“The generous funding will allow us to create a cutting-edge design studio for our team and a welcoming client-focused design center. This funding will not only give us a new physical space but also the capacity to expand our services, host events, and strengthen our community ties.”
