Vice President Kamala Harris, during remarks on a trip to North Carolina, said the Biden administration is on track to meet its goal of increasing federal contracts for minority-owned businesses by 50%.
It was Harris' 10th visit to Durham, North Carolina since becoming vice president, she told a group that gathered as she met with representatives for the venture capital program NC Invest.
"Not everyone has access to opportunity, but when provided with opportunity the talent is there, the capacity is there, the drive is there, the ambition is there, and growth, and economic growth results. So, that is the math in terms of what we are talking about," Harris told the group
Vice President Harris was there to announce that the Biden administration would be injecting a new $92 million to be used mainly for early-stage startups in North Carolina. NC Invest focuses on growing small businesses.
"The president and I from the beginning of our administration made a pledge which we are on track to meet, to increase by 50% federal contracts going to minority-owned businesses," the vice president said.
Power of the Black dollar: Funding entrepreneurs in tech
Black entrepreneurs in sectors like tech have historically faced disproportionate funding challenges that further stifle innovation for everyone.
"It makes economic and financial sense for us to do this work, because yes, the bottom line, in economic terms, is that this produces an extraordinary return on investment. And that investment is as much as any other reason why we are doing this work together with our partners," Harris said.
Sevetri Wilson Taylor, the founder of Resilia and the CEO of Propserall, told Scripps News, "Black founders continuously need to be funded, and they need Black fund managers to step up to the plate," when talking about startups in tech.
According to U.S. government data, in the last year, "Americans across the country and in a wide range of industries filed a record 5 1/2 million new business applications, bringing the total number under this administration to a record-breaking 16 million."
Census Bureau data shows that Black-owned businesses increased by around 13% between 2017 to 2020. Between 2017 and 2021, their revenues jumped by 43%, Scripps News reported.
