KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 21, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is spearheading a major new initiative to help position minority-owned businesses for opportunities related to the rebuilding of Gulf Coast communities following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
The Kauffman Foundation will provide coaching and training to minority entrepreneurs to assist them in gaining the skills and understanding they need to grow their businesses, including educating them to be better prepared to procure rebuilding contracts from both government agencies and private sector corporations.
The Foundation will also coordinate services of federal and local government agencies, private corporations and community groups to provide information to entrepreneurs so they can better secure rebuilding contracts.
"Although the devastating nature of Katrina cannot be overemphasized, out of this tragedy is an opportunity for minority businesses to become an integral part of the rebuilding process," said Carl Schramm, President and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. "Minority business participation in this rebuilding effort can be viewed as a general model for how all minority businesses can employ new and innovative growth strategies. Such an opportunity cannot and must not be left to chance or squandered. It's critical to the long-term economic health of the entire region."
Among specific actions the Kauffman Foundation is initiating is the opening of an office in the Gulf region as part of the Urban Entrepreneur Partnership (UEP). The UEP is a partnership of the Kauffman Foundation, the White House, the National Urban League and the Business Roundtable that combines private, public and non-profit sector resources to expand entrepreneurship and jobs in historically neglected and economically underserved urban areas.
The UEP program provides one-stop economic empowerment centers to offer business training, counseling, and procurement opportunities to minority and urban business owners. Kansas City, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Jacksonville serve as initial pilot cities to replicate and facilitate minority entrepreneurship and business development nationwide. A lease on office space in the Gulf region is in the works.
According to Daryl Williams, Director of Minority Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation and National Director of the Urban Entrepreneur Partnership, minority entrepreneurs have experienced challenges in participating in the rebuilding efforts of the hurricane-damaged Gulf Coast. This is due to a variety of reasons, including the devastation of the local workforce and public works infrastructure, inadequate and/or nonexistent employee housing, etc., but primarily because these businesses have challenges in obtaining information about upcoming contracts as well as not having the capacity to bid on large jobs.
Many minority-owned businesses in the region could benefit from a better understanding of not only what it takes to secure contracts, but how the bidding process itself works. These businesses often have challenges associated with developing joint ventures and strategic alliances to collectively bid on contracts, or conducting cash flow and profitability analysis on the contracts. Unfortunately, in many cases, successful bids become money-losing propositions. In other cases, minority owned businesses are falling victim to flim-flam artists who claim they can secure such contracts.
According to Williams, the UEP has designed a model to address this situation using the Kauffman Coaches Program as the driver for entrepreneurial invigoration and economic integration. The Kauffman Coaches Program, which is the training component of the UEP, has been modified for the businesses in the impacted region.
The Kauffman Coaches program was created to help entrepreneurs who do not have access to top-notch business advice identify and solve business problems in order to successfully grow their companies. The program's methodology focuses on examining business performance, identifying positive and negative drivers of profitability, deriving key initiatives to improve business performance, and establishing goals and metrics to plan and monitor results.
Although the Kauffman Coaches program does not provide funding, it will help the entrepreneur evaluate and identify funding options and possible sources of capital.
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America and improve the education of children and youth. The Kauffman Foundation was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman. Information about the Kauffman Foundation is available at www.kauffman.org.