Asian Americans in New Jersey Seek Collaborative Solutions to Fund Their Businesses
Asian Americans in New Jersey Seek Collaborative Solutions to Fund Their Businesses
“Innovation is not the future, it is right now,” said Lyndsay Kilpatrick, New Jersey Deputy District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration
[April 9, 2024, Iselin, New Jersey] – The National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE), alongside affiliate partner, the New Jersey Chinese-American Chamber of Commerce (NJCACC), hosted an AAPISTRONG Small Business Roundtable for minority small business owners to discuss the current state of business in New Jersey.
These roundtables are an open forum for minority small business owners in the United States to connect with policymakers, corporate partners, and community members to find solutions for the barriers facing minority-owned small businesses today. The New Jersey event is National ACE’s sixth roundtable this year. With over 65 attendees, participants discussed the unique challenges facing New Jersey’s residents and small business owners. The conversation explored what was going well for local small businesses and what could be improved upon.
As a longstanding small business advocate in Congress, Representative Andy Kim (NJ-03) demonstrated his commitment to small business issues. “I’m going to continue to do my best to try to make sure we are fighting hard for this and working together. I’m proud to play my role,” said the Congressman. He also presented the entrepreneurs with a call to action: “I really need your help and input in terms of what I should be focused on, what are the biggest challenges, and what you would want me and others to help alleviate and open up so you can have even greater opportunities than what you have so far.”
New Jersey State Assemblywoman Shama Haider further reaffirmed the government’s support for the state’s small businesses and entrepreneurs: “47% of all businesses in New Jersey are owned by immigrants, and we are here to offer you our unwavering support.”
One of the challenges raised by the attendees was that of language access. Accessing government funding is complicated due to the forms required, especially for non-native English speakers. "Language is one of the biggest barriers to our community,” said Jessie Lee from Renaissance Economic Development, a Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) in New York. Lee’s organization offers in-language support to Asian-owned businesses in New York and has expanded into New Jersey to provide over $70 million in capital and funding to Asian-owned businesses.
Corporate partners were also present to share how they are taking the lead in educating small business owners on funding options. “There's so much compliance for federal funding. For the business owners, they do not understand how the programs work. Bankers must digest the programs and make it simple for the business owner to comprehend,” said Sophie Ma from East West Bank.
Small business owners in New Jersey have both public and private resources to connect them to funding on a state level. “The National ACE accelerator was very helpful to understanding accessing funding,” said Sunny Wang, whose company provides energy-efficient air filters. “Now I need help entering the state procurement process.” The Small Business Development Center shared with Wang and the audience that they offer an in-person certification clinic to assist with 8(a) certification on a state level.
“Even when faced with barriers, from access to capital to capacity building, AAPI entrepreneurs have one of the highest rates of business ownership and employ over 5 million people, enriching their local neighborhoods and fostering an overall estimated buying power of $1.6 trillion," said National ACE President & CEO, Chiling Tong. "Our policymakers play a significant role in creating an environment in which our entrepreneurs and job creators can continue to thrive. We look forward to more conversations to understand the needs of our community and strengthen the resilient AAPI entrepreneurs across the country."
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About National ACE:
National ACE’s mission is to serve as a strong advocate of AAPI business interests and positive change on all issues that enhance and advance the goals and aspirations of AAPI business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders. National ACE strives to do this by supporting and promoting issues that impact the AAPI business community, improving the economic development and economic impact of the AAPI community, advancing coalitions, enhancing community building, and fostering the next generation of AAPI entrepreneurs and executives. National ACE provides a unified voice for the business interests of AAPIs nationally. Learn more at www.nationalace.org or www.aapistrong.com.
About New Jersey Chinese-American Chamber of Commerce:
The New Jersey Chinese-American Chamber of Commerce (NJCACC) is a non-profit and non-political organization (www.NJCACC.org) dedicated to promoting business among members, primarily assisting Chinese-American and other Asian American businesses to integrate into the American economy and facilitating US-China trade.
