In this episode of Breaking Down Barriers, Host David Ponraj talks to three prominent economic development leaders. They share their perspectives from the federal, state, and local levels about how economic developers can empower microbusinesses.The panel discusses ways to revitalize those businesses with 1-9 employees that were negatively affected by the pandemic. Many studies focused on the distribution of relief grants, but the panelists say microbusinesses are overlooked and have been historically ignored by lenders and economic developers. According to the SBA, microbusinesses make up 90% of all businesses in the US. This creates 66% of new job opportunities. We find microbusinesses face sizable barriers to capital access and technical assistance, among other vital business resources.Fund, Suzanne Perreault, Small Business Program Manager for Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Connie Evans, President & CEO for Association for Enterprise Opportunity, as they discuss the challenges microbusinesses face, and have long-faced, until a global pandemic revealed a critical need for economic developers to address and rectify, through innovation in resource allocation and policy change.
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In this episode of Breaking Down Barriers, Host David Ponraj talks to three prominent economic development leaders. They share their perspectives from the federal, state, and local levels about how economic developers can empower microbusinesses.The panel discusses ways to revitalize those businesses with 1-9 employees that were negatively affected by the pandemic. Many studies focused on the distribution of relief grants, but the panelists say microbusinesses are overlooked and have been historically ignored by lenders and economic developers. According to the SBA, microbusinesses make up 90% of all businesses in the US. This creates 66% of new job opportunities. We find microbusinesses face sizable barriers to capital access and technical assistance, among other vital business resources.Fund, Suzanne Perreault, Small Business Program Manager for Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Connie Evans, President & CEO for Association for Enterprise Opportunity, as they discuss the challenges microbusinesses face, and have long-faced, until a global pandemic revealed a critical need for economic developers to address and rectify, through innovation in resource allocation and policy change.
In this episode of Breaking Down Barriers, Host David Ponraj talks to three prominent economic development leaders. They share their perspectives from the federal, state, and local levels about how economic developers can empower microbusinesses.The panel discusses ways to revitalize those businesses with 1-9 employees that were negatively affected by the pandemic. Many studies focused on the distribution of relief grants, but the panelists say microbusinesses are overlooked and have been historically ignored by lenders and economic developers. According to the SBA, microbusinesses make up 90% of all businesses in the US. This creates 66% of new job opportunities. We find microbusinesses face sizable barriers to capital access and technical assistance, among other vital business resources.Fund, Suzanne Perreault, Small Business Program Manager for Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Connie Evans, President & CEO for Association for Enterprise Opportunity, as they discuss the challenges microbusinesses face, and have long-faced, until a global pandemic revealed a critical need for economic developers to address and rectify, through innovation in resource allocation and policy change.