The Philadelphia Equitable Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Assessment & Strategy
Philadelphia faces racial and social inequities that undermine the city’s economic vitality. Addressing these inequities requires Philadelphia to embrace an inclusive approach that builds community and individual wealth across all of the city’s neighborhoods and presents equitable avenues to economic opportunity and entrepreneurship.
Since early 2020, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce, and PIDC have engaged local business owners, community-based organizations, business support organizations, and anchor and philanthropic institutions to assess the evolving state of small business in Philadelphia and identify opportunities to address historical inequities for the city’s entrepreneurs of color, magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supported by a team of professionals from Next Street, Urbane Development, Econsult Solutions, Inc., and SourceLink, this initiative aimed to elevate locally relevant insights and national best practices for building inclusive and holistic entrepreneurship ecosystems to level the playing field for entrepreneurs and small business owners of color.
Combining in-depth data analysis, nearly 200 conversations with local small business owners and stakeholders, and input from a 31-member Advisory Council, this collaborative conducted a robust assessment of challenges in Philadelphia’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and proposes a comprehensive realignment of existing and future support services to form a more equitable environment for the city’s entrepreneurs and small business owners of color.
This proposed path forward aims to address historical racial barriers limiting access to entrepreneurial capital, business education and services, and growth opportunities, respond to the ongoing economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and create new avenues for all of the city’s entrepreneurs to start, sustain, and scale their businesses.
Improving Philadelphia’s small business environment.
BuiltByPhilly.org is a platform for BIPOC entrepreneurs to connect and grow through better access to capital, services, and customers. The site features the research findings of the Philadelphia Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Report and amplifies the voices and ideas of Philadelphia’s entrepreneurs.
Hear their stories and learn more at BuiltyByPhilly.org