Carrboro Town Council recognizes Minority Enterprise Development Week

During the Carrboro Town Council's meeting on Oct. 15, the Town recognized the week of Oct. 20–26 as Minority Enterprise Development Week in a proclamation signed by Mayor Barbara Foushee.

MED Week aims to celebrate minority-owned businesses and the historical accomplishments of minority entrepreneurs. The proclamation cited systemic racism restricting minority access to capital, property, markets and advertising as a historical obstacle to minority enterprise. The first MED Week was held by the United States Minority Business Development Agency in 1983, and Carrboro first recognized it in 2020. 

While the Town itself will not be holding any events, the North Carolina Statewide MED Week Celebration & Expo will be held on Oct. 31 in Raleigh.

However, Carrboro has several programs that aim to support minority-owned businesses, including the Boost Carrboro Business Summit, the BIPOC Business Pop-up Program and the BAG Business Accelerator Program. These programs aim to provide business owners with the resources and support they need to turn their ideas into businesses, Carrboro Economic Development director Jon Hartman-Brown said.

“Minority businesses bring a different perspective to how we think about business operations, and how we think about creating business policy,” he said. “It's always nice when you can go into a business and [when] you see the business owner, you see yourself reflected."

Hartman-Brown said MED Week is a time to recognize the importance of minority-owned businesses to the economy and focus on any needs they may have. He suggested that Carrboro residents find businesses to support using the list of BIPOC-owned businesses on the Town’s website. 

“This is all part of the commitment to equity, access and an opportunity economy,” Town Council Member Randee Haven-O’Donnell said.

According to the proclamation, there are at least 55 minority-owned businesses in Carrboro, which employ over 1,200 people.

Abhi Sivadas, who moved to the United States from India in 2015, is the owner of My Muses Card Shop in Carrboro, which he opened in 2019. He said he was quickly accepted by the community.

“[I've] always been welcomed and always been supported," Sivadas said.

Hartman-Brown said that while people tend to think of minority-owned businesses as a single category, the reality is much more complex.

“The reality is that there's so many different cultures and perspectives that are represented within minority enterprise as a whole,” he said.

The Town needs to continue working to meet the unique needs of each group, Hartman-Brown said, and there is always room for improvement.

“A community is made up of a diversity of people, and it really speaks volumes when your business community is made up of diverse people,” he said.

Many of the minority-owned businesses in Carrboro are non-traditional businesses operated from the owners’ homes, Haven-O'Donnell said. Hartman-Brown also said refugee and non-English-speaking communities are especially in need of support because it can be difficult for them to navigate the American economy.

“I think it’s just another way of elevating the conversation and the awareness,” Haven-O’Donnell said. “It’s another way for folks to think of business. We have to open up our mindset to what businesses can look like.”

@DTHCityState | city@dailytarheel.com