About Us

Our Story

Discover Our Journey So Far

Why the name Bama Kicks?
Bama Kicks originated in 2009 as a sneaker blog and retail concept, later expanding into fashion and creative freelance work. Across its many iterations, Bama Kicks has always drawn inspiration from Black sub cultures—sneaker culture, streetwear, music, and grassroots entrepreneurship. These cultural influences are not just aesthetic; they represent systems of creativity, resilience, and community-building that shape how we work and who we invest in.

In 2024, Bama Kicks was relaunched as an investment firm with a focused mission: to support and scale businesses within under-invested communities. Our work centers Black communities and other minority groups, reflecting the cultural lineage that has shaped our identity from the beginning.

We do this through two core approaches:
Our venture studio, which builds cooperatives and employee-owned businesses
Our investment funds, which back diverse founders building transformative companies across industries.

Bama Kicks exists to close funding gaps, return outsized value to communities historically excluded from ownership, and ensure the cultures that inspired us are also the ones who benefit from our growth.

Our Vision

Our vision is a world where everyone, regardless of geographic location or identity, has the resources to address their community’s challenges and meet their needs.

Our Mission

Our mission is to enhance access to resources for individuals from under-invested communities. We are committed to investing in companies that uplift their communities. Through our investments and venture studio, we aim to create a meaningful and lasting impact in the lives of people from diverse backgrounds, helping them tackle their community’s challenges and meet their needs.

Ezra Okuro

He/Him

Sr. Product Manager
(Chicago, US)

Claudia Espinoza

She/Her

Operations Manager
(Cancun, Mexico)

Mbula Natalie

She/Her

Senior Graphic Designer
(Nairobi, Kenya)

Remy Scrhoeder

They/Them

Managing Partner
(Denver, CO)

How We Invest

Impact + Profit

Bama Kicks achieves its goals with two distinct approaches:

  • Bama Kicks venture studio Idea Factory partners with entrepreneurs or finds needs in under-invested communities. Does the market research, product market fit, hire, and builds each company as a co-op or employee-owned business.

  • Bama Kicks Endeavors are a series of investment funds. Currently, Bama Kicks has two funds Bama Kicks Ventures (BKVC) and Small Biz Fund.

Our Idea Factory

Our venture studio collaborates with founders and partners to turn problems, needs, and ideas into sustainable employee-owned or co-op businesses. Ideas may come from prospective founders, the studio’s internal team, or partners. Once an idea is validated, the studio offers financial support and hands-on operational assistance. This model is designed to provide new businesses with a team of experts and resources, enabling them to build a sustainable enterprise with comprehensive support.

Our Endeavors Investment Funds

BKVC invests in companies anywhere in the world (with a preference for Chicago and Homa Bay/Western, Kenya) whose founders are People of Color, women, disabled or neurodiverse, or LGBT+. We invest across industries but are looking for companies and founders who solve problems and serve their communities.
We invest post-product through the series A round.

Small Biz Fund invests in businesses doing less than $200,000 or 2,000,000 KSH in revenue per year. Our Small Biz Fund is primarily focused on our hubs Chicago metro and Homa Bay/Western Kenya. Exclusively invest in businesses that are founded by and are in or serve under-invested communities.

HUBS

Our hubs are the only two hubs we will ever have. We use our HUBs to stay connected to our communities and connect with the world.

Solve Problems

We seek to partner with creative problem solvers who harness all the tools around them to tackle tough challenges.

Economic Outcomes

We are creating outsize value with our investments and will create outsize economic outcomes for our communities.