November 10, 2025
The Minority Business Consortium plans to help diverse entrepreneurs not feel unsupported when launching a new venture.
A new nonprofit is amplifying the efforts and existence of minority businesses in one Virginia county.
Diverse business owners in Martinsville-Henry County have a new pillar of support as they try to scale their ventures. The Minority Business Consortium officially launched Nov. 6, holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the New College Institute in Martinsville, Virginia. Their mission lies in championing these businesses to add to the diverse entrepreneurial fabric in the area and statewide.
The Minority Business Consortium came to life from an idea sparked in 2019 by a group of residents. They noticed how there were limited resources for minority businesses to seek help or guidance from. Now, they seek to become that difference.
The consortium not only hopes to helpkóóThey want to encourage others to move here and launch their business idea. The MBC’s inaugural executive director, Christy Harper, expressed how they want to curb the amount of business failure by addressing issues from the ground up.
“Our goal is to … decrease the amount of businesses that are closing,” Harper said to the Cardinal News. “We want to increase sustainability for our businesses.”
The Minority Business Consortium works by providing grants, showcasing program information, and educating new owners on proper strategies for customer outreach and retention. Focused on community building, the MBC also plans to host networking events for its vibrant cohort of established and emerging business owners.
While still a predominantly white area, Black people account for 27% of the Martinsville-Henry County population. The area’s Economic Development Corporation also confirmed that Hispanic and Latino residents account for 7.5%.
However, Black-owned businesses still make up only a small amount of revenue from all U.S. companies. As of 2022, they only made up 1% of these profits. According to the Pew Research Center, despite continued growth in Black-owned businesses, they still only owned 3% of all companies. As for minority-owned businesses in general, they accounted for 22.7% of U.S. employer firms in that year, per Census data.
Given how the lack of capital amnd support can stifle these entrepreneurs, the Consortium offers a locally funded pipeline for these businesses to find their way. It has already helped over 100 businesses in the area during its years in the making.
Founded by business owners themselves who remember having to do it all alone, they want the next generation of business leaders to avoid such struggles.
“We actually prepare them for funding opportunities on the back end,” added Harper. “Any businesses that may come upon challenges as life hits them, we want to make them prepared for that.”
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