Small businesses can get recovery aid from program

An educational and support program is available for area small businesses, especially those in underserved communities, struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kaiser Permanente is partnering with the nationwide Initiative for a Competitive Inner City to provide a tuition-free, virtual mini-MBA program for small businesses, including those in the Antelope Valley.

The two-day seminar combines executive education, webinars, coaching and connection to capital to help businesses recover.

This Inner City Capital Connections program is designed to help small businesses to build capacity to grow and create new jobs.

Businesses selected to participate will complete a training and coaching program, which includes an interactive, virtual seminar series that focuses on business recovery strategies, as well as information on capital and technical

assistance resources.

The program also includes webinars, one-on-one coaching with business leaders and culminates in a conference for program graduates.

Nominations and applications are open for the first class, which will be held Aug. 10 and 12. It is open to businesses across Southern California that qualify and are selected following the application process.

To qualify, businesses must be an independent, for-profit or non-profit corporation, partnership or proprietorship; be headquartered or have more than 51% of its physical operations in an economically distressed area, or have more than 40% of employees residing in such area; be past the proof-of-concept phase, with two years or more of revenue histories.

The deadline to nominate or apply is July 16. Application forms are available at icic.org under the heading of Urban Business Initiatives.

Kaiser Permanente has partnered with ICIC in such programs since 2016, providing support to more than 1,700 businesses and creating more than 2,000 jobs, according to a Kaiser statement.

Of the 1,786 businesses that have participated, 66% were minority-owned and 58% were owned by women.

A 2020 Health Crisis survey by ICIC found 71% of business owners who responded experienced revenue loss, 33% laid off employees and 90% received some type of government financial assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For small businesses in our communities across Southern California, particularly those in historically under-resourced areas, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented many daunting challenges,” said John Yamamoto, vice president, Community Health and Government Relations, Kaiser Permanente. “We support the ICCC program because small businesses are drivers of inclusive economic vitality in the communities we serve, and because greater economic opportunity contributes to better health for the people who live in these communities.”