Small businesses are vital to the U.S. economy! They are the engine which ignites the vitality felt perhaps even more keenly at the local and state levels.

Local economies are made to shrivel or thrive on the basis of the rate of new jobs created and maintained whether the national economy is in growth or receding. The Allegheny County, Pennsylvania region is seen as having, largely, reinvented itself in the face of the 2008 recession from which opportunities continue to abound. Whether the minority business cache benefits from this abundance is a matter of the presence and extent of opportunity.

The African American Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to fostering multiple avenues to identify, create and sustain opportunities for its members and the general small business sector to thrive in this environment of growth. We work directly with corporations and the public sector to maximize opportunities for African American Business Owners and Professionals to gain access on doing business and to move their firms to the next level of engagement.

It is our belief that equal opportunities for minority businesses help to position our region as a vibrant area for small business development.

The Chamber is interested in the economic advancement of the region as manifested in the social, financial and civic health of its businesses, communities, and citizens. We remain focused African American, Hispanic, Native American, women, and other minorities who statistically lag behind the general population in indicators of health, wealth, and successful pursuit of generally-defined indicators of wellbeing.

Pittsburgh Today reported that “Pittsburgh’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased 3.3 percent and had the fifth-highest rate of growth from 2014 to 2015.” And, the average annual wage has grown faster in the region than it has in the nation for eight of the last nine years. Yet, other studies find that among 15 benchmark regions, African Americans post unequal rates in indicators of wellbeing such as poverty levels and home ownership.

A 2014 update of a 1994 economic benchmarks study found Blacks in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County suffering the lowest economic wellbeing of all 50 benchmark MSAs. Both database analyses and survey responses reflect an unequal enjoyment of the advancements of the region. The Chamber must be vigilant in knowing and understanding the implications of indicators of disparity and for identifying and implementing strategies for redressing those disparities.

Advancements in the vitality and effectiveness of African American businesses can go a long way in intervening in the persistence of economic disparities. The Chamber continues to work to establish relationships with important organizations, institutions and people that are leading the region’s business sector. These relationships help spawn the corporate, community to help strengthen minority and small business owners, leveraging our access to aid in improving business owners and professionals’ ability to create material wealth for their business enterprise.