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Mayor Parker announces $25 million partnership with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative in Houston

March 19, 2012 by  
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HOUSTON – Mayor Annise Parker today announced that Houston has been selected to join the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative. The initiative, already in place in several other cities, comes with a $25 million commitment to provide loans to help local small businesses. Additional grants will be provided to subsidize business education for current small business owners.

“Small businesses play a vital role in job creation for our city’s economy,” said Mayor Parker. “However, due to the lack of a support network, they often struggle more than their larger competitors and lose out on opportunities to grow and create more jobs. The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative will have a real effect on the owners of these businesses, the working Houstonians whose livelihoods depend on them and our overall economy. It can help keep more of our local dollars here at home.”

Mayor Parker is convening a number of local organizations to manage the program in Houston. Houston Community College (HCC) will provide business basics at the classroom level and the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) will help facilitate access to lending within the community. The University of Houston Small Business Development Council Network will provide technical assistance to small business owners applying for loans and will be the key organization to package the financial assistance.

Dr. Mary Spangler, HCC Chancellor; Andy Icken, Mayor Parker’s Chief Development Officer for the City of Houston; Houston Mayor Annise Parker discuss the 10,000 Small Businesses initiative.

The Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (HHCC) and Houston Minority Supplier Development Council (HMSDC) will host clinics focusing on the most pressing economic development issues for small businesses.

“Houston plays a vital economic role in the United States,” said Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. “At its heart is a community of thousands of small business owners who, through 10,000 Small Businesses, will be able to access new resources from local and national experts to help them grow.”

The 10,000 Small Businesses initiative will offer the following assistance:

  • Business and Management Education: Small business owners will have access to a practical business education developed in partnership with Babson College, one of the nation’s leading schools for entrepreneurs, and delivered by HCC, one of the nation’s largest community colleges. Small business owners will develop a business growth plan to help them increase revenues and new employees. Classes are free to business owners accepted through a competitive application process. Applications are currently available online. Classes will begin on May 13.
  • Access to Capital: Goldman Sachs is committing lending capital to Houston area small businesses. The loans will be managed and distributed by regional and national Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) loan funds. These CDFIs will partner with local organizations to award the loans and build future lending capacity in Houston. CDFI loan funds provide loans and technical assistance to businesses that often cannot access traditional sources of capital and are partners in 10,000 Small Businesses nationwide.
  • Business Support Services: Business advice, technical assistance and networking will be offered to participating small business owners through partnerships with the community colleges and national and local business organizations, as well as the people of Goldman Sachs.

“Houston Community College has a history of partnering with the local business community and promoting entrepreneurship and we are proud to continue this by participating in the 10,000 Small Businesses initiative,” said HCC Chancellor Mary Spangler. “The participants of the program will receive an education that will help them access resources and grow their businesses.”

“The Greater Houston Partnership is excited to be a part of the 10,000 Small Businesses initiative,” said Jeff Mosely, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership. “The program has the potential to stimulate the Houston economy, provide support for local business owners and expand the lending capacity of local institutions.”

Program Background

10,000 Small Businesses is a $500 million initiative that will unlock the growth and job-creation potential of 10,000 small businesses across the United States through greater access to business education, financial capital and business support services. It is based on the broadly held view of leading experts that a combination of education, capital and support services best addresses the barriers to growth for small businesses. In addition to Houston, it is now operating in New Orleans, New York, and the Greater Los Angeles area and will continue to expand to communities across the country.

Strategy and guidance is provided by the 10,000 Small Businesses Advisory Council, chaired by Lloyd Blankfein, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett and Harvard Business School Professor Dr. Michael Porter.

10,000 Small Businesses is modeled on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative, which creates partnerships between academic institutions and non-profit entities to provide a business and management education to women around the world. 10,000 Women is currently operating in 22 countries, where it is helping women entrepreneurs create jobs and growth in their communities. Who Should Apply

The program is designed for owners of small businesses with limited financial resources, and with few opportunities to otherwise access a business education designed to enhance small business success. Broad characteristics of business owners targeted to participate include, but are not limited to: ownership or co-ownership of a business; business revenues between $150,000 and $4 million in 2010; business in operation for at least two years; at least four employees; operations in economically underserved areas; and a business model that could scale to create more jobs.

Interested businesses can apply at: http://www.hccs.edu/10KSB

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