Collaborating to Grow Minority Businesses

Several organizations from throughout the region have united to assist minority-owned enterprises grow. The Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ is now seeking companies to assist with new business opportunities.

Paula Schleis of the Akron Beacon Journal recently had a short story on the accelerator, which included the following:

The accelerator, with initial funding through a $1 million grant from the Fund for Our Economic Future, will be operated by the Commission on Economic Inclusion, the Hispanic Business Association, JumpStart Inc. and the Northern Ohio Minority Business Council.

The program also will reach out to large Northeast Ohio corporations by encouraging better use of minority-owned suppliers.

''It's essential that we work on both the supply and the demand side of the minority business-development equation, so that the minority supplier and the corporate customer are ready to do business with each other,'' said Andrew Jackson, executive director of the Commission on Economic Inclusion.

Companies interested in finding out how they can participate in the Accelerator should visit its web site. The Accelerator is designed to help companies that already have at least $2.5 million in revenue. Those companies are targeted because they are in a good position to take advantage of new business opportunities identified by the operators of the Accelerator.