A recent
article from Entrepreneur.com highlights the disparity between white and black
owned businesses, discussing what drives this gap and what is being done to
resolve this problem.
In general,
the article sums up that the lack of access to capital is the primary reason
driving the lack of minority entrepreneurs.
The article cites that “the culprit…is a low level of personal wealth,
which translates into limited access to startup capital, and ultimately puts a
stopper on the accumulation and transfer of riches to the next generation.”
Recognizing
that this disparity in business ownership exists, one of CCV’s focus areas is
assisting minority-owned enterprises (MBE).
In 2008 alone, 70% of the clients CCV served were minority-owned businesses. Our counselors have unlocked millions of
dollars of capital to not only assist start-up businesses, but also to ensure
that existing minority-owned enterprises remain open.
The article
also calls out that one of the most important reasons to support and grow MBEs is
the fact that many of these businesses are integral to the development of
underserved urban – mostly minority – communities. Investing in a MBE, is investing in the
community.
CCV is also
expanding its services to focus more on community-based initiatives. In addition to assisting businesses on a one-off
basis, CCV is providing financial and consulting services to a community of
businesses. The goal is to get the
business owners in the community to work together and leverage one another’s
resources to strengthen the business corridor as a whole. You can read more about the project and how
it has progressed in past CCV newsletters.
Although
the percentage of MBEs is still disproportionately low, we here at CCV see
encouraging signs of growth and energy that will continue to stimulate
innovation. As the Entrepreneur.com
article points out, quoting Thomas Boston of EuQuant, “’The minority business
sector is becoming a larger and larger market, and if the country is to
continue to grow and be competitive, we have to make sure that this sector
grows and is competitive as well.’”
Read the
full article from Entreprenuer.com here.
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