Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

GoDaddy at the U.S. Conference of Mayors: Advocate for Microbusinesses in America

Jan 28, 2022 9:00 AM ET
Campaign: GoDaddy | Microbusiness

As a proud platinum partner and business council member of the US Conference of Mayors, GoDaddy Venture Forward was excited to join the 90th Winter Meeting in Washington, DC on January 20th, 2022.

Above is the recording of the Plenary Panel, kicked off by the USCM President, Mayor Francis Suarez, introducing Jeremy Hartman, Vice President of Venture Forward. The session includes a 10-minute overview of the Venture Forward work, followed by a conversation between Jeremy and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt about the importance of microbusinesses.

Microbusinesses have been a topic of growing interest and focus for Mayors.

This can be seen from The Hill’s chat led by Editor at Large, Steve Clemons, that took place also in D.C. that day, including the following clip with Mayor Holt.

Holt joined six mayors, Paul Skoutelas, President and CEO of American Public Transportation Association, and Steve Clemons, Editor-at-Large for The Hill to further discuss the positive effects microbusinesses have on the economy.

"I expect this word microbusiness is going to be integral to the political lexicon over the next five years."

-Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt

The Venture Forward research and Mayor Holt shared aligned findings that microbusinesses have three major needs: 

  • Access to capital
  • Access to technical support
  • Help with marketing

In Bloomberg’s CityLab, A Mayor Makes the Case for Investing in Microbusinesses,

Holt discusses how many microbusinesses in Oklahoma City were either unaware of or unable to receive small business loans through the Cares Act. To provide new financial support to microbusinesses, in May 2020, Oklahoma City offers grants of up to $10,000 through the Oklahoma Urban Renewal Authority. Later that year, the city approved $15 million in funding for the creation of the Henrietta B. Foster Center for Northeast Small Business Development and Entrepreneurship to support minority small and disadvantaged businesses.

Learn more about the current state of microbusinesses in the U.S. in the Winter 2021 report.

This article was originally published to Venture Forward by GoDaddy.

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