BizCare of Kansas City is committed to helping underrepresented entrepreneurs succeed. The City recently received two grants; $15,000 from the National League of Cities for its Inclusive Entrepreneurship in Cities grant to support Hispanic/Latino business owners and $10,000 from the United States Conference of Mayors for its Innovation Grant DollarWise.
“Kansas City is a city of entrepreneurs and we are committed to supporting our local and minority small businesses, which serve our community every day and are so fundamental to our city,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “Latino and Hispanic entrepreneurs are vital to our local economy, but many continue to face barriers to growing and starting their businesses, including lack of access to capital or barriers linguistics. The grants will help our BizCare Kansas City office provide resources and support to our local Latino and Hispanic businesses to overcome these barriers and succeed. Thank you, National League of Cities and United States Conference of Mayors, for your continued commitment to entrepreneurs.
The City will use the $15,000 grant to reduce barriers faced by Hispanic entrepreneurs at any stage of their business. As part of the National League of Cities’ Inclusive Entrepreneurship Grant, BizCare identified several institutional or programmatic barriers for Hispanic entrepreneurs starting, growing, or maintaining a business.
Here are four steps BizCare has identified as solutions to help Latinx business owners thrive:
- Culturally Competent Technical Support Guides – This includes language translation of all documents related to starting a business.
- 24/7 Multilingual Support – Includes a chatbot to help Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs with questions and resources.
- Visibility – BizCare plans to partner with Startland News, a nonprofit newspaper, to feature and promote Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs.
- Waived Fees for Organizations/Initiatives – This will allow eligible Hispanic business owners to access low- or no-interest capital to help them grow and grow their businesses.
“I would bet every city says, ‘We want entrepreneurs; we want people who are doing what they think is important and doing it for the greater good of the city,” but in many cases there is no incentive or help.” Samuel Morris, BizCare Small Business Advocate said. “This is not the case in Kansas City; thanks to our unique technical assistance and advocacy initiatives (such as obtaining a checklist of all requirements to start a business, offering policy support for small businesses and updating available programs), we’re helping Kansas “the city become the most entrepreneurial city in the country and we hope other city leaders will look at what’s possible within their budgets to invest in the entrepreneurial spirit that already exists. We need to invest in entrepreneurs so entrepreneurs will invest in our city.”
BizCare will apply the $10,000 grant from the United States Conference of Mayors to the city’s Capital Access Program. In partnership with local Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (ESOs), professional service providers (accountants/bookkeepers, etc.) and financial institutions, the City will provide technical assistance to small businesses with loan applications and grants and financial advice. The program will serve as a lifeline to small business owners and minorities by providing easier access to capital to help them grow their businesses during this economic downturn. The program will target diverse Kansas City entrepreneurs and small business owners in low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities.
“We are delighted to receive this grant, and it will go towards our Access to Capital initiative aimed at helping small businesses access start-up capital. Currently, the City has raised more than $700,000 for this effort. Funding initiative this summer. Overall, this initiative will help create opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs who might otherwise struggle to access the resources they need to succeed. Nia Richardson, Executive Director of KC BizCare said.
“We would like to thank the City of Kansas City for their support as we looked to open our business. We are both pleased and grateful for this opportunity,” Isolina and Dario De La Vega, owners of Los Hornos said.
The City of Kansas City is committed to fostering an entrepreneurial environment of inclusion and equity, and these grants are a critical step in achieving that goal. By supporting local entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, the City helps build a more dynamic and resilient community for all.
###
For media inquiries about KC BizCare, please contact Monica Castro at monica.castro@kcmo.org.
