United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey has launched an effort to build an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The Built By Philly initiative is a partnership between United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Philadelphia’s Department of Commerce, and PIDC to address historical inequities for the city’s Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs.
The effort is one of the outcomes of the May 2021 Philadelphia Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Assessment which highlighted that, while Black and Latinx Philadelphians account for 44% and 17% of the city’s population, they only own 5% and 4% of all small employer businesses, respectively.
“Small businesses play a critical role in helping shape and grow our local economy. If we want to build our city, we need to close the racial wealth gap and present equitable avenues for economic opportunity. This assessment gave us clear direction and specific action items in addressing these challenges and inequities — and implementation begins now.”