Supporting Minority Businesses in Northeast Ohio

March 15, 2022

Why Investment Matters

According to studies cited in articles by Forbes* and McKinsey & Company*, the COVID-19 emergency has especially derailed the significant growth of Black/African American and minority-owned entrepreneurship in America over the last several years.

Programs and grants, like those made through FirstEnergy’s Diverse Supplier Development Program, make a difference by:

  • Building supportive ecosystems for minority-owned businesses.
  • Developing community wealth, for both diverse business owners and the people they employ.
  • Helping close existing financial gaps that prevent local, diverse businesses from building equity and viability.
  • Keeping local communities thriving with available supplier options that support and foster diversity, equity and inclusion.
  • Giving minority entrepreneurs the chance to expand into new business areas where they are currently under-represented.

​To help expand and grow minority-owned businesses in northeast Ohio, FirstEnergy recently made a $1 million contribution to UBIZ Venture Capital, a small business lending program affiliated with the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, a 501(c)(3) organization.

UBIZ provides counseling, technical assistance and loans to African American and minority-owned businesses with high-growth potential that are having difficulty securing capital.

The FirstEnergy grant will be used to establish the new “UBIZ Access Fund II,” which will make loans to qualifying minority-owned or controlled small businesses located in Cuyahoga, Summit, Lake and Lorain counties. FirstEnergy’s contribution will be paid in quarterly installments of $250,000, and UBIZ will provide quarterly reports to FirstEnergy summarizing the UBIZ Access Fund II lending activity.

“By contributing to UBIZ Venture Capital, our goal is to help minority-owned businesses make a positive economic impact in our northeast Ohio service area, with the hope that some of these companies become FirstEnergy suppliers,” said Rich Sweeney, vice president, Supply Chain. “Supporting UBIZ is an extension of our existing Diverse Supplier Development Program, which involves mentorship and training for minority-owned businesses throughout the FirstEnergy footprint. UBIZ has a strong history of identifying and successfully supporting minority businesses and we look forward to partnering with them.”

FirstEnergy has committed to achieving a 20% diversity spend by 2025 for our company-wide Supply Chain expenditures. In 2021, the company achieved 16% of Supply Chain spending with diverse suppliers.

“We greatly appreciate FirstEnergy’s generosity and willingness to create the UBIZ Access Fund II to expand the scope of our small business loan program,” said Michael Obi, executive vice president, Economic Development, Urban League of Greater Cleveland and president of UBIZ Venture Capital. “FirstEnergy’s support aligns with UBIZ’s long-term goal of sustaining existing, and creating additional, viable, minority-owned small businesses that generate jobs for community residents and build community wealth.”

To be considered for an UBIZ Access Fund II loan, interested businesses can go to www.ubiz.biz.

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