On Sept. 14, administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the voice for America’s 33 million small businesses in President Biden’s cabinet, joined John Hope Bryant, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE Inc., the nation’s largest nonprofit dedicated to financial empowerment for underserved communities in Los Angeles to highlight the implementation of a recently signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum geared toward promoting the development of entrepreneurial potential within the Black community.
“Partnering with Operation HOPE is an important step as our SBA team works to reach and lift up more entrepreneurs in communities all across America,” said Guzman. “Our work together will help advance President Biden’s vision for an economy that works for all Americans and is built from the bottom up and the middle out. Delivering on that means ensuring all of our nation’s entrepreneurs have access to the SBA programs that can help them start, grow and build resilient businesses, and I couldn’t ask for a better ally in this effort than John and the Operation HOPE team.”
To underscore the significance of the new alliance, the two organizations and local allies participated in today’s Los Angeles event, hosted by Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC), an organization that facilitates community development to revitalize the physical, economic, and social life of residents of South LA and beyond. As with the agreement itself, the event aimed to help raise awareness of SBA resources and Operation HOPE programs that aspiring and existing Black entrepreneurs in various communities stand to benefit from so they can establish themselves, grow and scale.
“Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. It takes grit, determination, a clear understanding of how money works, and most importantly how to access critical resources,” said CEO Bryant. “Through this groundbreaking partnership with the SBA, we are on a mission to teach diverse communities how to succeed in business and build sustainable wealth for their families and their communities. Thanks to the leadership of Administrator Guzman, our collective effort will reaffirm that the American Dream is within reach.”
