National Urban League and Third Way Launch First-of-a-Kind Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity

WASHINGTON, DC – With just 2% of America’s employer businesses owned by Black people and 6% owned by Hispanic people, the National Urban League and Third Way are joining together to launch the Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity (AEE). This first-of-a-kind effort between a legacy civil rights organization with over a century of economic empowerment experience and the leading center-left think tank in Washington, D.C. will develop and advance a long-term federal agenda that dramatically increases opportunities for minority and female entrepreneurs to start and expand successful businesses.

“Racial inequality has cost the American economy tens of trillions of dollars over the last few decades,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said. “Overcoming barriers to economic opportunity is not just a challenge for Black and Brown Americans, but for the nation as a whole. As the largest and most effective network of economic first responders, we are proud to work with dynamic, forward-thinking partners like Third Way who recognize the value of America’s untapped entrepreneurial potential.”

“There is no way to close the racial wealth gap without tackling the many barriers that hold women and people of color back from starting, owning, and scaling businesses,” said Jon Cowan, president of Third Way. “Achieving equity in entrepreneurship has the potential to unleash a new generation of minority- and women-owned businesses, hiring, and generational wealth. We’re thrilled and excited to work with the National Urban League on this critical effort.”

AEE will provide the intellectual foundation for structural policy change along with advocacy capabilities to facilitate that change. Work will include incisive research and analysis that unpacks barriers for minority-owned businesses, providing a conduit for innovative thought leadership from HBCU professors and academia to federal policymakers, hosting entrepreneurial equity idea summits, and driving policy change in Washington.

Support for the Alliance comes in part from AEE’s Industry Council which includes Amazon and Wells Fargo as founding partners.

Learn more at https://www.aeequity.org.