Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: Supporting Black-Owned Businesses at Mackinac Policy Conference

Spring is a time for new beginnings, and every May, we come together to discuss new ideas, solutions, and innovations at the Mackinac Policy Conference. May is also small business month, and at the conference, one key topic of discussion will be how we can continue growing our economy by helping more families and small businesses ‘make it’ in Michigan, especially in communities of color. I’m proud of the work we have done to support Black business owners and I will continue working with anyone who wants to help Michigan entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. Michigan benefits most when everyone has a shot, and Black-owned businesses have an enormous positive impact on our economy. That’s why we established the Michigan Economic Opportunity Fund, a $10 million microbusiness loan program for women and entrepreneurs of color that invests resources directly into Michigan communities. We set and surpassed our goal to connect geographically disadvantaged business enterprises, or GDBEs, to state contracting dollars, set a new goal, and then invested $2.5 million last year in the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council to help small businesses register as GDBEs so they can win state contracts. Our efforts are supplementing the Biden administration, which doubled the...