Solano SBDC taking part in Inclusivity Project for Black business owners

COVID-19 has made the past year a struggle for all small-business owners, but it has had a particularly negative impact on Blackowned businesses, many of which have had to close permanently.

The Solano Small Business Development Center wants to help those business owners be able to rebuild or recoup their financial losses. The agency is part of the Northern California Small Business Development Center, which has just launched the Inclusivity Project.

The project, according to a Solano SBDC news release, provides free training opportunities and advice from experts. It also seeks to secure $100 million in funding for 1,000 Black-owned businesses in the area.

According to Solano SBDC statistics, there were more than 1 million recorded Black businesses in the United States in Feb. 2020. However, by the middle of April — a month after the federal stay-at-home order was issued in response to the virus — 40 percent of those businesses were estimated to have closed their doors for good.

“The NorCal SBDC network, which includes the Solano SBDC, hopes the Inclusivity Project will shine a light on the needs of Black entrepreneurs and provide a safety net that can help them preserve their existing businesses or start a new enterprise in Northern California,” SBDC officials wrote.

In a statement, Solano SBDC Director Tim Murrill said the project would be beneficial to Black business owners in the county.

“A project of this magnitude is important at any time but in light of COVID and its impact on our businesses, it’s even more vital now,” he said. “We are one of the most diverse counties in the country and our Black-owned businesses have been hit hard.”

Through the program, Solano business owners will be paired with SBDC adviser and Solano Black Chamber of Commerce liaison Cynthia Cowart. According to SBDC officials, she has 25 years of professional business experience with an emphasis on business planning.

“You want to have a degree of comfort and trust with who you are speaking with and what better way to build that bond than to speak with someone who has a similar background as you do,” she said in a statement. “Recovery is definitely key right now. Hopefully, this project will offer the assistance, the guidance, the mentorship that business owners need to succeed.”

For more information and to register, go to Theinclusivityproject.com.