Prosperity Partnership Works to Strengthen Minority-Owned Business Ecosystem Under the leadership of Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell, the Prosperity Partnership is undertaking an exciting new effort to improve the business climate in the central Puget Sound for entrepreneurship by minority business owners (MBO). The Prosperity Partnership is focusing on increasing access for minority-owned businesses to both credit and contracting opportunities by improving the effectiveness of the minority business ecosystem - the system of interactions between MBOs, the large cluster businesses with whom they contract and the business resource providers that prepare MBOs for business and connect them to opportunities. What is the Challenge? As the region continues to become more diverse, support of minority-owned businesses is an increasingly important part of the Prosperity Partnership's Regional Economic Strategy. Nationally, 70 percent of new jobs are created by small business, and minority-owned businesses are a growing portion of small business in our region and in Washington state. Success among minority-owned businesses translates to increased jobs, increased wealth and long-term prosperity for all of our region's residents. In order to ensure that success, however, more must be done to ensure that these entrepreneurs have the tools, resources and access they need to be successful. According to recent studies from both the University of Washington and Seattle University, MBOs in Washgton state report unmet credit needs and business development concerns at a significantly higher rate than either non-minority business owners in Washington or MBOs in other states. The smooth functioning of the minority-owned business ecosystem in our region is key to overcoming these barriers. The Minority-Owned Business Ecosystem What Can We Do? The Prosperity Partnership is working with each of the corners of the ecosystem triangle to make sure that minority business owners have access to both the formal and informal opportunities that allow them to secure financing and contracts. Specifically, the Prosperity Partnership’s Minority-Owned Business Development Strategy calls for efforts to increase and improve supplier diversity programs, provide additional networking opportunities, improve the effectiveness of business resource providers' programs and strengthen communication about contracting and credit opportunities. The Prosperity Partnership will also be creating a number of new tools, including partnering with the Business and Economic Development Center at the University of Washington's Michael G. Foster School of Business to produce a best practices toolkit outlining the specific steps necessary for local cluster businesses to set up effective supplier diversity programs. To see the entire strategy, visit http://www.prosperitypartnership.org/foundation/minority/index.htm. For more information, contact Eric Schinfeld at 206-971-3053 or eschinfeld@psrc.org. back to top