GW Expert on Entrepreneurship: Macy's to Invest in Minority-Owned Businesses

Macy’s announced plans to invest $30 million over five years to support entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups in the retail industry. According to The New York Times, access to more financing is key for minority entrepreneurs to expand their business operations, but Black, Latino and women founders receive only single-digit percentages of venture capital.

If you would like more context on this matter, please consider Kathy Korman Frey, professorial lecturer of management and the director of the Center For Entrepreneurial Excellence at the George Washington University School of Business. Korman Frey’s areas of expertise include entrepreneurship, women and business, and venture funded start-ups. 

“In the women’s entrepreneurship field, the research is abundant and abysmal regarding the percentage of women-owned businesses receiving venture capital funding. The number is even smaller for women of color,” Korman Frey says. “This is a great concept from Macy’s to create targeted on-ramps. Measurement of outcomes will help us all understand if this is a meaningful program.”