At a young age, Geneva Greene quietly vowed to join the fictitious Planeteers, of the show Captain Planet, who strived to protect planet Earth. Although the Planeteers do not exist, Geneva found ways to incorporate environmental consciousness into her personal and professional life. When she grew and moved into a professional career, Geneva held roles that marketed energy efficiency technologies. She joined WACIF in 2023 as an Equitable Development Fellow to research how to support small businesses in environmental sustainability.
Green entrepreneurship is vital to our economic and environmental future with potential in reducing the wealth gap, improving the quality of life, and addressing environmental justice in traditionally underserved communities. Environmental justice hails from the work of Dr. Robert Bullard who declares that low socio-economic communities are fraught with the harmful byproducts of climate initiatives established in wealthy communities. Entrepreneurs can grow jobs and advance collective wellbeing, which can negate the impacts of environmental discrimination. Geneva Greene, third-year doctoral student at Howard University studying communication and culture, hosted informational discussions with current WACIF clients whose business models address environmental justice. One of the organizations was Dai Technologies Corporation.
Sheryl Ponds founded Dai Technologies Corporation (DaiTechCorp), a full-service electrical vehicle charging business, in 2018. DaiTech’s site reads, “Without equitable access to Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS’s), the largest group within the EV market – drivers who live in dense urban and multifamily settings – are discouraged from EV Adoption. And they will suffer more from Range Anxiety. It’s not a coincidence that these are the same communities that already experience more negative health and environmental disparities due to higher carbon emissions levels. Just the presence of one EV charger in an apartment/retail garage will influence more residents, patrons, and employees to embrace electrified transportation (https://www.daitechcorp.com/).”
In the interview, Sheryl discussed DaiTechCorp seizing the opportunity to fill a void in her community. She said, “We’re a part of the advertising and marketing (of EV adoption), but the only way charging stations will get in our neighborhoods is if local businesses like DaiTechCorp actually install them.” In the future, she plans to sign licensing agreements with aspiring entrepreneurs in other top 20 urban markets who want to be mentored while starting their EV infrastructure businesses.
WACIF clients appear across a wide spectrum of environmental sustainability solutions including electric vehicle charging, building efficiency and construction, and environmental civil engineering to ecofriendly consumer products and packaging. Geneva continues to survey, host discovery calls, and facilitate focus groups with entrepreneurs like Sheryl and those interested in entering or growing green entrepreneurship practices. Her research is dedicated to helping WACIF determine ways to grow their green lending and technical assistance offerings, especially following the government’s growing investment in greenhouse gas reduction and environmental sustainability.
“The relationship between the environment and entrepreneurship fascinates me,” said Geneva. “During my research, I met dynamic and brilliant, women entrepreneurs with businesses in the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability industry. They inspire me to do more and learn more. This Earth Day, I encourage corporations and small business owners to not only plant a tree, but to also consider how we can institute long-term economic practices that uplift underserved communities and protect our planet’s resources now and into the future.”
You can learn more about Geneva Greene at http://geneva-greene.com. Geneva passionately supports the WACIF mission of uplifting small business entrepreneurs. Learn more about WACIF here at https://wacif.org/.
Established in 1987, the Washington Area Community Investment Fund’s mission is to increase equity and economic opportunity in underserved communities in the Washington, DC area by investing knowledge, social, and financial capital in low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. Our mission is driven by three strategic pillars: inclusive entrepreneurship, community wealth building, and equitable economic development, and is fulfilled by providing access to capital products and services, and capacity building technical assistance to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. Wacif has been continuously certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) since 1996, making the organization one of the nation’s first CDFIs.
