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Minority Business Accelerator
Growing Minority Businesses
Mission
The mission of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s Minority Business Accelerator is to accelerate the development of sizable minority business enterprises (MBEs) and to strengthen and expand the regional minority entrepreneurial community. Created from the findings of the Cincinnati Community Action Now Commission in 2001, the MBA actively seeks to improve the readiness of minority businesses while increasing the recognition of the value of African-American and Hispanic-owned businesses as suppliers, customers and investment opportunities.
The Cincinnati USA region faces a great opportunity to transform itself into one of the nation’s foremost communities to live, work and play. It is our belief that our community can begin to attract new businesses and new assets at a greater rate when all segments of the community operate at the highest level.
Strategies
The MBA is designed to deliver more sizable and scalable MBEs to the marketplace (supply-side), as well as creating a more aggressive and robust corporate MBE procurement environment (demand-side). The MBA works to build mutually-beneficial business relationships for MBEs, the corporate community and the public sector.
The Supply Side
The MBA accelerates the growth of MBEs through organic growth - by facilitating substantial contract opportunities with major corporate customers - and through high-value deal opportunities. Past examples of high-value deal opportunities have included acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and enhanced capitalizations.
Research indicates that larger MBEs have an increased potential to have a greater direct impact on the regional economy through increased purchasing power and the ability to create jobs in underutilized communities.
The Demand Side
In 2004, the MBA initiated a local corporate MBE spend-goal strategy to focus the area’s largest corporations on the positive effect of concentrated spending with local diverse companies. These collective procurement dollars serve as an important investment strategy to drive the growth of the regional minority business community. It also demonstrates the desire of corporate leaders to positively impact the region where they maintain headquarters or significant operations. Supporting minority firms through competitive sourcing helps increase employment in minority communities, thereby improving the economic condition of neighborhoods and increasing purchasing power. A strong local economy benefits Cincinnati USA through talented workforce, improved quality of life and public safety.
Currently, over 20 local corporations, minority firms and other entities are engaged in the spend goal campaign. In 2009, these companies committed to spending $400 million with local minority firms, representing a 100% increase over the last five years.
MBA Corporate Goal Setters
Quicklinks:
Become informed:
Minority Business Community Assessment: Spring 2010
2009 MBA Review
2008 MBA Review