Local entrepreneurs with social visions take part in BBVA Momentum

Three small, innovative Birmingham companies — each headed by social entrepreneurs — recently completed a valuable five-month business growth training as part of the BBVA Momentum accelerator program hosted by BBVA USA bank.

Build Up-Ensley, Magic City Woodworks and SmallBox Company were chosen in June to participate along with 16 other small enterprises around the nation.

Participants in Momentum receive online training through Headspring Executive Development by Financial Times, while the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas in Austin manages the in-person training. Each participant is also paired with a local mentor from BBVA.

The goal is to help entrepreneurs who are seeking to make a positive impact on society to develop effective growth strategies.

At Build Up, Dr. Mark W. C. Martin provides low-income youth with career-ready skills in construction through the use of paid apprenticeships with industry-aligned coursework. The organization’s pilot project is called Build Up-Ensley.

At SmallBox Company, Eric and Elizabeth Tasker convert shipping containers into semi-permanent retail spaces and offer short-term leases to small business owners. This provides those businesses with an innovative way to test their products or services in a market before committing to a retail location.

“We provide a space that lets companies quickly, and with less risk, test the market and gain data on the viability of their products,” Tasker said in a news release from the three companies. “We have had several of our tenants transition to permanent locations in Birmingham.”

At Magic City Woodworks, Lawrence Sheffield provides meaningful manufacturing work, job training and life skills for young men who face barriers to gainful employment.

“We have a work and life-skills training program, which our apprentices are paid to attend,” Sheffield said in the release.

This is the third year that BBVA has offered the Momentum program in the United States, according to bbva.com.

This year’s participants were selected from online applications, according to the site.

Selected applicants then pitched their businesses for bank executives, community partners and professors during speed interviews in BBVA markets across the country.

At the end of the program, BBVA awards prizes to participant enterprises considered to be the most sustainable and with the highest social impact.

The winners may be eligible to receive further investment, including capital to implement the growth plans they develop during the program.