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Fernanda Sayles, CEO and founder of Fernandegdy Sweets and Treats, will begin making her special banana pudding mix on September 13, 2022 at the Local First Arizona Community Kitchen in Mesa. (Photo by Justin Spangenthal/Cronkite News)
Fernanda Sayles, CEO and founder of Ferndigdy Sweets and Treats, places sliced bananas in a pudding tray at Local First Arizona Community Kitchen in Mesa. (Photo by Justin Spangenthal/Cronkite News)
Fernanda Sayles is featured on stickers promoting her business, Ferndigidi Sweets and Treats. Photo taken on September 13, 2022. (Photo by Justin Spangenthal/Cronkite News)
FernDiggidy Sweets & Treats dessert mason jars are sold at the Uptown Farmers Market in Phoenix, Retail Treats AZ in Glendale and Mesa’s Main Street Harvest Community Grocery. (Photo by Justin Spangenthal/Cronkite News)
The banana pudding tray is Fernandegdy Sweets & Treats’ best-selling item, says CEO and founder Fernanda Sayles. She quickly gathers pots and tins of pudding together, leading her to a full refrigerator. (Photo by Justin Spangenthal/Cronkite News)
Each banana pudding jar comes with a wafer cookie mixed with fresh bananas. FernDiggidy Sweets & Treats offers other sweet treats, each made with fresh, local ingredients. Photo taken on September 13, 2022. (Photo by Justin Spangenthal/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX – Fernanda Sayles discovered her love for baking at age 10 when she started making banana pudding for her family in south Phoenix.
At the time, Sayles never imagined she would one day own a successful business selling desserts in mason jars.
In the year Her success was not easy as she started Ferndigdy Sweets and Treats in 2015 with only the resources she had in her kitchen.
“I didn’t have a lot of money to start my business,” she said. “I quit a couple of jobs to work full time, but of course the bills kept coming in so I had to go back to work” at the doctor’s office.
Sayles’ experience is common among black business owners. They have the lowest rate of entrepreneurship of any single race and ethnicity in the U.S. in 2021, up from an average of 0.28% since 1996, according to a national report released in March by Kaufman’s Entrepreneurship Indicators. However, this average has risen to 0.38% in 2020.
The 2022 State of Black Business Report, released in August by Black Arizona State, found that more than 50% of black business owners struggle with a lack of access to capital, low personal wealth, disparities in creditworthiness and low loan application rates.
The report also found that black entrepreneurs have the lowest odds of success — meaning they are more likely than any other race or ethnicity to start a business out of necessity.
If black-owned businesses equaled the population, the study found, there would be 4,945 such businesses in metro Phoenix. Today there are 1,019, according to Brookings Metro data cited in the report.
If that parity exists, more than 132,000 jobs could be created in metro Phoenix, the study found.
Black Arizona State Executive Director Tenniqua Broughton said African-Americans have had lower rates of entrepreneurship compared to people of other races, and the trend has continued across generations in Arizona.
The reason for this, she said, is that “individual wealth disparities and fair and equitable generational wealth building have historically been taken away.”
In addition to access to capital, the State of Black Business report lists networking, management education, business knowledge and marketing as key challenges.
A sweet start after an uphill battle
Sayles said she had no savings or other funds to start her business. Even after obtaining permits and tax information, she was denied a loan because she was ineligible.
Sayles said she started small and built her career through her personal network.
“I would go to barbers in the valley to get the word out, and they would welcome me, support me and tell me all they could about my business,” she recalls. “The community was my backbone, from the barber shop to my friends and even strangers.”
Sayles said her business is based on her family’s cooking. Her family enjoyed banana pudding, strawberry cheesecake, peach cobbler and seasonal items, often arguing over who got the last bite — especially in the corners of the cute cobbler.
To solve the problem, she started preparing desserts in mason jars, which returned the agreement. Soon Sayles decided to spread this joy and “goodness” and founded Fernandigi.
Sayles now bakes and sells her desserts at the Local First Arizona Community Kitchen in Mesa and the Uptown Farmers Market in Phoenix, Retail Treats AZ in Glendale and the Main Street Harvest Community Grocery in Mesa. She also offers gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan options.
Before her business took off, Sayles struggled to keep afloat during the pandemic. She applied for a Phoenix Small Business Microgrant and received $3,000 to cover rent, utilities, staff salaries and other expenses. The Phoenix City Council has allocated $8 million from the America’s Rescue Plan Act for the grant program.
But many businesses have suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the United States, the number of African American business owners fell from 1.1 million in February 2020 to 640,000 in April, Broughton said.
Arizona has help for black business owners.
Arizona has several programs and organizations to combat the wealth disparity gap and help black-owned businesses start up and succeed, including the UPI Loan Fund, the Foresight Foundation, and SEEME (Social and Economic Equity for Minority Enterprises).
Angela Garmon, owner of ARG Coaching & Consulting Group and founder of SEEME, said she wants black businesses to be seen as a resource to society.
“If we continue to get the opportunities they deserve, ultimately what we’re doing is creating space for the next generation of wealth and redressing the disparities in our communities,” she said.
As a business owner herself, Garmon said she has the same hopes as other black-owned businesses – “to be recognized for our value, for what we bring to the table and to be given opportunities.”
‘Everybody Wins’
Sayles’ dream for FerndiGidi is to sell her sweets in major grocery stores nationwide and to one day open a storefront.
She encouraged other black business owners not to give up on their goals despite economic hardships.
“We have a history of determination, fighting hard and never giving up, so we have to continue to do that with our dreams and goals,” Sayles said.
Despite their challenges, African Americans are one of the fastest-growing demographics in Arizona, Broughton said, and they’re key to the economy’s success.
“When we invest in our black businesses and our neighbors, everyone wins – so Arizona can thrive, attract industries and become a place where people want to live, work and raise their families,” Broughton said.
“The ecosystem needs to move beyond individual efforts and start working together. Arizona needs to make deliberate political, social and business capital investments as a priority and begin building a better ecosystem for black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs.
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