New Instagram directory aims to connect KC customers with Black-owned businesses

Finding a Black-owned business in Kansas City has often depended on word of mouth, social media recommendations or knowing the right people to ask. Kansas City G.I.F.T. hopes to simplify that search with a new digital directory that puts dozens of local businesses in one place.

The nonprofit has transformed its Instagram page into a searchable showcase of Black-owned businesses across the Kansas City metro, highlighting restaurants, retailers, service providers, artists and other consumer-facing businesses.

According to CEO and co-founder Brandon Calloway, the organization has accumulated an extensive network of businesses through its efforts to support Black businesses, making a directory a natural next step. The initiative officially began taking shape in February and currently features more than 60 businesses on the Instagram, along with roughly 100 businesses previously highlighted in the organization’s Black Business Guide. Two additional businesses are added each week.

“We’ve been playing around with the idea of how to actually do a directory since we first started,” Calloway said. “One of the biggest questions we get on a very, very regular basis is, ‘Do you know a Black-owned business that does this?’ or ‘Do you know a Black-owned business that does that?’”

Unlike many online business directories that rely on user submissions, Kansas City G.I.F.T. is initially drawing from businesses that have participated in its ecosystem. Many have received grants, business coaching or technical assistance through the organization’s business center, allowing staff to confidently recommend businesses they already know. The directory also intentionally highlights businesses beyond the restaurants that often dominate conversations about Black entrepreneurship, including businesses such as board game creators, yoga studios and tattoo shops.

“The Instagram serves the purpose of letting people know who those Black-owned businesses are and making it easy for them to support Black-owned businesses,” Calloway said. “This is how we execute on that purpose.”

The effort is designed to complement the nonprofit’s broader mission of strengthening Black entrepreneurship. While Kansas City G.I.F.T. provides education, business planning, website development, accounting support and grant funding, Calloway said those resources have limited value if businesses cannot consistently attract customers. Increasing visibility, he said, is another step toward helping businesses grow, hire employees and build long-term sustainability.

“Our mission is really to create sustainable Black employers on the east side of Kansas City,” Calloway said. “It’s to turn Black-owned businesses into Black employers. Customers are the lifeblood of a business,” he said. “If you don’t have customers, then you don’t really have a business. You just have a potentially great concept and idea that you’re talking about.”

Calloway said the directory is also intended to reach consumers outside the Black community. While supporting Black-owned businesses within the community remains important, he believes meaningful economic growth also depends on attracting new customers from across the metropolitan area. Expanding businesses’ customer bases, he said, creates opportunities for revenue growth, hiring and wealth creation.

He also acknowledged that promoting Black-owned businesses can sometimes bring criticism. Following recent publicity surrounding the directory, Kansas City G.I.F.T. received online comments questioning the focus on Black-owned businesses or objecting to the concept altogether. Calloway said those reactions reflect an additional hurdle many Black entrepreneurs face when marketing their businesses.

“It’s impossible for us to see the economic mobility that we need if we don’t get participation and customers from outside of our community,” Calloway said.

Although the directory currently lives on Instagram, Calloway said Kansas City G.I.F.T. has discussed eventually expanding to additional platforms. A dedicated website would provide better organization by industry, but maintaining one would require staff time the nonprofit currently devotes to its core programs. For now, the organization plans to continue growing the Instagram directory while expanding its printed Black Business Guide, which has already distributed thousands of copies throughout the community.

“We help them reach a broader customer base,” he said. “We help customers that might be looking for them that don’t know where to look or don’t even know what to type in. We help them find what they’re looking for, even when they don’t know what they’re looking for.”