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“Small businesses play a much more important role in society than simply providing goods and services. Small business owners are community leaders, job creators, creative problem-solvers, and family providers,” writes Sandy Fernandez, Vice President, North America, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, in his introduction for this ebook. “They are entrepreneurs who not only have good business ideas, but individuals who inspire us through their talent and drive. Their existence enriches not only our economy, but our lives and communities.”
This ebook highlights the ways that small business owners are creating new ways of doing their work, like New York’s Drivers Cooperative, a driver-owned ride-hailing platform, and Oakland’s Sanctuary for Sustainable Artistry, which supports micro businesses with free retail space and technical support.
It also provides models of how other people and organizations — such as CDFIs, philanthropists, larger companies, and governments — are working together to strengthen small business ecosystems. CNote, a women-led B Corporation and FinTech, and Chicago TREND, a social enterprise working to advance strategic commercial development for Black communities in the Midwest city and beyond, are just a couple of examples.
Download this compilation of stories to learn more about the ways people across the U.S. are making sure that small businesses thrive.
Reporting in this ebook was made possible with funding from the Mastercard Impact Fund in partnership with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.
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