The Missing Million Minority-owned businesses and the Entrepreneurship Diversity Gap in the US

Kansas City’s Kaufmann Foundation has researched entrepreneurship in the US for decades.  This year’s State of Entrepreneurship details the stark realities of the systemic inequalities that exist for diverse entrepreneurs in the US.

This year, the Kauffman Institute is turning their thought leadership into action with the launch of Zero Barriers to Startup , a new, collaborative, nationwide effort to ID and address barriers to entrepreneurship faced by many diverse communities.

Says Kauffman Foundation President and CEO Wendy Guillies:

As a nation, we must re-create the conditions in which optimism can thrive. We must increase support not only for entrepreneurship, but also for the key ingredients of its success. We must remove the barriers that have been erected and develop communities that will encourage, guide, and reinforce…

Breaking down the entrenched barriers for minorities and women isn't only the right thing to do; it will add millions of jobs to our economy…

…If minorities started and owned businesses at the same rate as non-minorities do, the United States would have more than 1 million additional employer businesses and as much as an extra 9.5 million jobs in the economy…

At VeraCloud we also recognize these issues, and join in with leaders like the Kaufman Foundation who work with great purpose and intent to resolve these systemic inequalities at whatever scale is needed. At VeraCloud we also believe that fostering and enabling entrepreneurship throughout all of America’s diverse communities is the key to our long term collective economic, social, and cultural success.

  • We exist to profitably transform the way diverse entrepreneurs, their businesses and government work together in the $500+Billion government contracting marketplace.
  • We’re driven to create a more just, inclusive use of public sector funds to unlock opportunities, and sustainable job creation for certified diverse businesses.
  • We’ve built our SaaS platform to efficiently enable private contractors, governments, elected and appointed public officials, foundations, nonprofits, and philanthropies to better collaborate and tangibly advance progress on critical marketplace issues. These include diversity, access, financial inclusion, economic opportunity, and ongoing support for diverse businesses across the US.