17th District Congresswoman Cheri Bustos visited the Minority Business Development Center in Peoria Tuesday.
Much of the space at the Black Business Alliance office at 2139 SW Adams is still under reconstruction. But it’s already working to help more minority owned businesses grow and succeed.
1st District Peoria City Council Woman Denise Moore is championing the effort to link perspective businesses owners to a variety of organizations like the Small Business Administration.
Congresswoman Bustos says connecting more minority business startups to seed money is something she will work with the Small Business Administration to help achieve. "What we do know is the percentage of loans that come out of the program are not what they should be for the minority community. So it’s drawing to the attention of the leadership of Small Business Administration that we want to make sure that we are part of folks success and that we are increasing those numbers.”
The City of Peoria has invested $150,000 toward the creation of the Minority Business Development Center and Peoria County’s contributed $50,000.
The goal is to expand the 13-percent minority owned business base to more closely match the 37-percent minority population in Peoria.
The Minority Business Development Center’s office space will be complete by the end of the year. The Black Business Alliance is also still trying to raise $320,000 to complete the business incubator.