Jess Randolph and Rasul Sha’ir

The digital age is here—but too many small businesses are stuck on the sidelines.

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital tools are revolutionizing industries, Capital Region entrepreneurs are grappling with numerous questions: How[GU1] [JR2]  do I use this technology? Is it worth the investment? Will I be left behind if I don’t engage? These aren’t abstract challenges, they’re daily realities affecting real people trying to grow sustainable businesses.

At WACIF, we see this as more than a conversation about technology.  It’s about equity, resilience, and ensuring that innovation isn’t just a buzzword reserved for Silicon Valley, it’s a tool for every entrepreneur in the National Capitol Region trying to make a difference.

Subject matter experts, including the Black Meta Agency, participate in an AI panel during 2024 Fusion Festival at the Anacostia Arts Center.

Enter the Innovation Taskforce

WACIF launched the Innovation Taskforce (ITF) in 2024 to help close the gap between powerful technology and the entrepreneurs who need it most. It’s not just a program, it’s a movement driven by local insight and national expertise.

Made up of a dynamic team of professionals in marketing, accounting, research, and fundraising, the ITF is building bridges between small businesses and the resources they need to thrive. Our mission? To ensure that no one in our community gets left behind in the race toward innovation.

Our Discovery Phase

Innovation Taskforce members, Rasul Shair and Jess Randolph welcome Delaware State’s CAFE Cohort, 2025.

Through deep listening—focus groups, research, and real conversations with entrepreneurs—we’ve identified three critical pain points that technology can help solve in 2025 – 2026:

• Operational Efficiency: Owners wear multiple hats in business and need systems that save time.
• Access to Capital: Even great ideas can’t grow without the right financial tools.
• Market Expansion: Businesses are ready to scale but need help reaching new audiences.  When polled during one of WACIF’s signature digital programs, Digital Refresh, 71% of clients didn’t have a social media strategy, 64% of product businesses didn’t use an e commerce platform, and 92% of people didn’t use AI at all.

Innovation Lives at WACIF

At WACIF, innovation isn’t in silos, it occurs across the organization. Whether it’s at the Anacostia Arts Center, which WACIF acquired and has operated since 2021, or through our access to capital workshops, entrepreneurs have access to programmatic offerings that sharpen their tech skills and spark bold ideas.

The Innovation Taskforce will power these efforts, working alongside existing programs to ensure that every touchpoint—every workshop, event, or initiative—delivers something practical, technologically fresh and forward-looking.

Methodology: Considering local and national trends impacting small businesses and the CDFI space, we will:

• Support the Design and Implementation WACIF’s new Learning Center Model to include access to trending tools for the small business owners that need our help.
• Drive external thought leadership through blogs, social media content, and video storytelling.
• Curate and share a collection of Innovation Taskforce verified tech products from corporate and community partners to share with community members that need it most.
• Drive Tech and Innovation Centered Partnerships to optimize program delivery    through sponsorship and other opportunities.

Current Innovation Initiatives

Creators Academy Advertisement, featuring Morgan E Liz, 2023

• Creators Academy for Entrepreneurs  – WACIF’s Creators Academy is a series designed to equip entrepreneurs and artists with the tools they need to thrive in the ever-changing digital economy. Launched by WACIF in 2022, The Creators Academy has served over 550 entrepreneurs. The program offers hands-on guidance in SEO for YouTube, Midjourney content creation, and customer prospecting through LinkedIn.
• Digital Refresh – Launched in 2023, WACIF’s Digital Refresh empowers entrepreneurs through a masterclass designed to strengthen and enhance digital engagement by leveraging cutting-edge technology and innovative tactics to elevate their website and social media presence and strategy.
• Fusion Festival – The Anacostia Arts Center hosts a yearly celebration of arts, culture, and technology at Fusion Festival; celebrating cutting edge ideas, innovative leadership and challenging the status quo in our own backyard.

Partnerships That Make a Difference

We’re not doing it alone. WACIF is building strategic partnerships with organizations like The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, Capital One, Deloitte, CareFirst, giving local entrepreneurs access to mentorship, national exposure, and dynamic networking. These aren’t just logos on a slide—they’re doors opening for business owners who’ve historically been locked out.

From hosting Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center-led workshops featuring local businesses like Beyond the Logo, to presenting our Airbnb collaboration to members of the Congressional Black Caucus, we’re showing what’s possible when funders, institutions, and community builders come together.

The Road Ahead

As disruption across all spheres continues and innovation demands intensify, WACIF isn’t just focused on building more programs but designing a blueprint for innovation. We’re doing it together with the entrepreneurs who make our region vibrant, creative, and resilient.
We invite our community, partners, innovators, and supporters who believe in a more equitable future—to invest in WACIF’s Innovation Taskforce. Together, we can make sure that the digital economy reflects the brilliance and potential of the communities we serve.

Our door is wide open for new partnerships.

Community members gather to participate in the Anacostia Arts Center’s Creators Academy, 2022