Support for minority-owned businesses launches

10th October 2016   ·   0 Comments

By Blair Lyons
Contributing Writer

In an effort to boost the state economy, the Louisiana Economic Development agency began working to provide more resources for small business growth, particularly for women- and minority-owned businesses.

In August, the agency formed a Diversity Committee for Small Business Growth that held its first meeting in New Orleans on Sept. 16. The committee is expected to hold its second meeting on Oct. 21 in Baton Rouge.

The committee’s work is to inform the state on how best to help small business owners, like New Orleans resident, Natalie Lewis. The state’s interest in expanding resources for firms like hers is a welcomed initiative, she said.

“Not a lot of women know where to start and how to grow their business,” said Lewis, who owns Masters Real Estate and Tax Service in New Orleans. “More women will probably bring in more ideas to the table.”

The state announced it wants to identify firms like Lewis’ and then connect smalls firms to specific programs and resources for women and minority-owned businesses. In forming the committee, the state looked for organizations representing a diverse range of small business owners in various parishes. The Asian Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana, the Vietnamese Initiatives in Economic Training and the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce are among the initial members of the committee.

“Minority and women-owned businesses receive only two percent of all the business receipts for the state of Louisiana,” said Jeffrey Thomas, the executive director of the Strategic Action Council, and one of the member organizations on the committee. “We hope this new committee will change that.”

The committee will meet monthly in different locations across the state, said John Matthews, the director for Small Business Services for Louisiana Economic Development. “The location of these meetings will take place in various Louisiana cities to better serve the participants and to ensure that multiple regions can be represented throughout the year,” Matthews said.

The meetings will serve as a forum for members to propose ways in which the state can aid the growth of small enterprises. It will also allow for the state to hear directly about the types of services needed, Matthews said.

“As this was the first meeting of the group, the committee members discussed policy-related issues as well as new opportunities for women and minority-owned businesses to be connected with small business contracting opportunities,” Matthews said of the New Orleans meeting.

This month’s meeting will follow up on the feedback the members provided at the New Orleans meeting.

“The group will not only ensure that the current programs available to women and minority-owned businesses are reaching the appropriate audience, but it will also identify and find ways to fill gaps to better assist these businesses,” Matthews said.

Gov. John Bel Edwards is a proponent of the initiative. At the start of his term, he began the work of studying how the state can grow its economy, Matthews said. “This initiative is in keeping with the governor’s transition team on economic development to address diversity and inclusion as related to opportunities,” Matthews said. “Specific initiatives will be determined and planned by the committee at the monthly meetings.”

In a January report by the governor’s Committee on Economic Development, his administration targeted economic growth as key to the recovery of the state. “With a surplus of new jobs, more Louisiana citizens could achieve the American Dream right here at home,” the report stated. “Poverty would de-cline. Crime rates would decline. Education outcomes would im-prove. There would be more support for arts, culture and nonprofits.”

The LED hopes the new committee will also support other programs geared toward small businesses. This includes an Economic Gardening Program, which will provide high-level technical assistance and research for high-growth small businesses. The committee also hopes the initiative would provide certification programs for small and emerging businesses and veteran-owned businesses, as well.

This article originally published in the October 10, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.