Minority Capital Access Forum
This forum brought together bankers, community development practitioners and business owners to highlight strategies that help funders connect with minority business owners. The forum featured a “Meet the Lender” program in which business owners had an opportunity to speak one-on-one with lenders. The Minority Capital Access Forum was presented in partnership with the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Black Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council and the Michigan Small Business Development Center.
Sessions at the forum included discussions on:
- Recent lending and borrowing trends among minority business owners
- How bankers and community development finance practitioners can reach diverse business owners and neighborhoods
- How training programs help business owners get access to capital and build professional networks
- How the Michigan Chambers of Commerce can connect funders to minority business communities
- Agenda
Maude Toussaint-Comeau from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s community development and policy studies division presented recent trends in bank lending, business growth, financial access and resource needs among Detroit business owners.
For the first time ever, heads of minority chambers of commerce in Michigan, with the Michigan director of the Small Business Administration and the president of the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council came together to discuss the role of the chambers in linking minority business owners with funding, customers and other resources.
