As women of color that are naturally interested in networking, we all too often have this problem: where do we go when we want to find events for African Americans in your city? If you’re not connected to a community for women of color or if you live in a non-urban city the answer to this question can be very hard. As someone who has had to curate and build events for busy BAUCE women, I know the struggle all too well, especially when I’m trying to find centralized directories or spaces online to promote BAUCE events to my target audience: young African American professionals who want to build their businesses.
Well, Wilson Jon-Baptiste, a programmer and digital marketer by trade, also recognized this gap in the market and decided to do something about it. “
“I built frocentric from the ground up with the aim of serving the black experience by creating a common hub where people can find similar events in one place,” Wilson told blacknews.com in a recent interview. “The true value of any event or meetup is what you received from attending. However, the energy surrounding the website where you buy your tickets is just as important as the message.”
In an age where supporting black businesses has become a more conscious decision for many “woke” millennials, frocentric’s timing is all too opportune. The platform, which is black-owned, gives young professionals the opportunity to support a brand that seeks to retain the dollar within the black community longer and help boost our economic buying and spending power as a community. More importantly, unlike other ticketing platforms, frocentric is authentic about the causes it supports and doesn’t list events that accept money from political groups or organizations that support ideals that are not afrocentric in nature.
“The response we have received so far has been fantastic as it’s easy to understand what we are trying to do,” Wilson said.
From a marketing standpoint, frocentric makes itself competitively compelling. In addition to being able to directly target a key demographic, the event and ticketing platform helps event planners save money. Unlike the expensive fees that are associated with more popular ticketing platforms, frocentric allows event promotors to retain the full amount of their ticket profits.
Frocentric also has a philanthropic goal as well. In addition to being a hub of information that young black professionals can leverage to find “tools available to decide the course of our own future”, they also support organizations that seek to uplift the black community such as Black Girls Code and The Trayvon Martin Foundation.
To learn more about frocentric, you can visit their website here.
