he U.S. Economic Development Administration (“EDA”) announced the Minority Business Accelerator as the recipient of a $1.5MM grant as part of its recent investments to support programs that fuel innovation and tech-based economic development. The grants are part of the “Build to Scale” program, which is administered annually by the EDA and aims to accelerate technology entrepreneurship by increasing inclusive access to business support and startup capital.
The Accelerator’s application was selected among more than 235 proposals to advance high-quality job growth, create economic opportunity, and support the next generation of industry-leading companies.
“This is an incredible opportunity, and we are humbled to be selected as one of the fifty recipients,” says Darrin Redus CEO of the Minority Business Accelerator. “Our acceptance into this program will further fuel the work we are doing to grow large-scale minority business enterprises in the Cincinnati region and beyond.”
The Accelerator’s mission is to accelerate the development of sizeable minority-owned businesses and strengthen and expand the minority entrepreneurial community through access to capital and other resources to achieve sustainable growth. Since its inception the Accelerator has created a portfolio of over sixty African American and Latino-owned businesses with average annual revenues of approximately $30 million each. The Accelerator is positioned to scale its efforts through four strategic pillars: GROW firm revenues, BUILD a pipeline of high growth businesses, ATTRACT larger-scale businesses, and CREATE MBEs through acquisition. It motivates and prepares diverse leaders through a collaborative environment that encourages creativity, innovation, communication, and brokers critical connections in the business community. By October 2024, the Accelerator plans to grow the annual revenues of the region’s MBEs by $1 billion and create 2,000 new jobs, while concurrently embedding more inclusive business practices that benefit all entrepreneurs throughout the region’s broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“At a time in which COVID-19 has put millions of small businesses in significant economic distress, disrupted supply chains globally, and the disproportionate impact that these events have had on minority-owned businesses, the work of the Accelerator and the broader ecosystem is more critically important than ever,” says Darrin Redus. “We must continue to build upon our momentum to bolster and ensure minority entrepreneurs endure and thrive through this season.”
About the Minority Business Accelerator
The Minority Business Accelerator (“The Accelerator”) is the flagship minority business and economic inclusion initiative of The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. Its mission is to accelerate the development of sizable minority businesses and strengthen and expand the regional minority entrepreneurial community. The Accelerator is committed to increasing regional minority business spending to over $2 Billion and the creation of 7,000 new jobs by year-end 2025. A “4 Pillar” strategy is utilized to accomplish these bold goals which includes growing the existing base of large-scale firms; creating a robust pipeline of emerging businesses; attracting targeted larger scale firms to the region; and creating new firms through the acquisition of existing mainstream businesses with no identified succession plan. For more information, visit www.minoritybusinessaccelerator.com
