Asian American Small Business Owners in Chicago Meet at McDonald’s Headquarters with Elected Officials To Find Solutions Around Funding and Sourcing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2024

PRESS CONTACT

Emily Fuder: efuder@nationalace.org

Asian American Small Business Owners in Chicago Meet at McDonald’s Headquarters with Elected Officials To Find Solutions Around Funding and Sourcing

[July 16, 2024, Chicago, IL] – The National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE), alongside affiliate partner, the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Chicago hosted an AAPISTRONG Small Business Roundtable for minority small business owners to discuss the current state of business in Chicago.

National ACE works to connect policymakers, corporate partners, and community members to find solutions for the barriers facing minority-owned small businesses. AAPI small business owners and entrepreneurs have often been left out of the discussion when policy makers have adopted policy and legislation that impacts their ability to start, sustain, and grow. 

“Small businesses are the backbone of this economy and all of our communities,” said Alderwoman Nicole Lee, Ward 11, and the first Asian American woman on the City Council of Chicago. “If we don’t know that there’s a problem, there’s nothing we can do to fix it. We are here to serve you.”

The event was held at McDonald’s Headquarters, and host Brad Bogan, Vice President for Strategic Franchising at McDonald’s, shared that the McDonald’s franchising pipeline is 73% diverse, most of which are AAPI. “Convening elected officials, business coaches, and entrepreneurs is great to talk about what resources are needed to further activate and enable AAPI business ownership,” said Bogan.

Joining AAPI entrepreneurs at the event were Alderwoman Nicole Lee, Ward 11;Robert Steiner, District Director, Small Business Administration; and Terrie Simmons, President, Illinois MBDA Business Center.

Participants gathered in small groups to discuss key challenges they face in the city as business owners and residents. “When there are only so many imports of certain ingredients, we find all these Filipino restaurants–people in our community–are bidding against each other,” said Melvin Reyes, owner of Filipino restaurant Mano Modern Cafe in West Town. Other restaurant owners shared similar sentiments and felt like they had to create their own supply chain with each ingredient. 

This was National ACE’s twenty-eighth roundtable in 2024. National ACE offers the Capital Readiness Program to further support small business owners seeking funding to grow their business. Through the Minority Business Development Agency, National ACE is providing one-on-one business coaching with little to no wait time for appointments. Clients can expect to get support with their financial documents, business plan, and applying for funding from certified lenders. “We have helped over 300 AAPI small businesses with our personalized business coaching,” said National ACE Vice President of Programs and Marketing Emily Fuder. “And we are going to connect AAPI small businesses to over $14M in funding this year through our capital partners.” Business owners can learn more at https://www.nationalace.org/capital-readiness-program.

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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 Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Chicago:

Our mission is to assist and inspire Chicagoland’s dynamic and growing network of Filipino American entrepreneurs, business owners, corporate leaders, social services directors, and cultural educators to collectively improve our Fil-Am community’s economic viability and influence through commerce education, investment introductions, networking opportunities, and business development programs.