New research shows high-performing small
business “clusters” grew faster and added more jobs than other
businesses in major U.S. metro areas
Grants to small business networks will provide
access to critical resources including facilities, investors and
skilled employees
JPMorgan Chase & Co. today launched Small Business
ForwardSM, a five-year, $30 million grant program to boost small
business support networks that help growing enterprises in specific
industries. Small Business Forward connects entrepreneurs with
critical resources to help their businesses grow, create jobs and
strengthen communities.
Small businesses can increase their impact on a region’s
competitiveness and economic output through business concentrations
known as economic “clusters.” In fact, nearly half of the high
performing clusters in the nation’s 10 largest metros grew roughly
three times faster than other local businesses between 2003 and
2011, according to a new study from the Initiative for a
Competitive Inner City (ICIC).
“Beyond their vital role in our economy, small businesses are
often the source of innovation and inspiration,” said Scott Geller,
CEO of Chase Business Banking. “Helping local, small business
clusters grow faster and create more jobs will take JPMorgan
Chase’s involvement in the entrepreneurial community to a new
level.”
JPMorgan Chase launched Small Business Forward at a forum
supported by Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the U.S. Small
Business Administration; U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the
Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee; U.S. Senator
James Risch, the committee’s ranking member and Rep. Sam Graves,
chair of the House Small Business Committee.
Small Business Forward will fund nonprofit cluster organizations
that work with small businesses concentrated in a single sector. In
addition to supporting strategic planning and research, JPMorgan
Chase’s grants will help cluster organizations provide
participating small businesses with:
- Networking that helps businesses
connect with investors, mentors, competitors and customers;
- Partnerships with colleges and
universities that help drive industry research and
innovation;
- Workforce and management
training that gives them access to the skilled employees and
managers they need to grow;
- Supplier networks that offer
specialized products and services to cluster businesses; and
- Export promotion to help
businesses access new markets, and source new customers and
suppliers.
In addition to their impressive economic growth, businesses
participating in high performing clusters typically add more jobs
than other businesses in local/regional markets, according to the
ICIC research, which was commissioned by JPMorgan Chase. Between
2003 and 2011, many small business clusters outperformed overall
employment growth in their metropolitan areas. For example, the
Education and Knowledge Creation cluster in Los Angeles increased
employment growth by 31 percent compared to general employment
growth rates in the city during that eight year period. The Oil and
Gas Production and Transportation cluster increased employment
growth by 47 percent in Houston during that same time frame. ICIC
is a nonprofit research and strategy organization founded by
Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter in 1994. ICIC’s
extensive knowledge of urban economies and small businesses has
contributed to the advancement of cluster theory and practice.
“Clusters are driving economic growth in major cities,
contributing to job creation, higher wages and innovation.
But the impact of clusters on small business growth could be
strengthened. Most cities currently lack a unifying strategy
for supporting clusters and small businesses,” said Kim Zeuli,
ICIC’s Senior Vice President and Director of Research.
Supportive of regional, industry-specific clusters, the SBA
applauded JPMorgan Chase for developing the Small Business Forward
initiative.
“America’s forward-looking companies are investing in clustered
communities, because they see the return on investment,” said SBA
Administrator Contreras-Sweet. “Clusters speed commercially viable
ideas from the drawing board to the marketplace. These are
communities with buy-in at every level and a proven support
structure that nurtures success.”
Inaugural investments of Small Business Forward’s five year,
$30million commitment will touch the following ten cities across
the country and then expand to additional markets in the US and
abroad:
- Chicago: Manufacturing
Renaissance’s Austin Manufacturing Innovation Park is developing a
facility for advanced manufacturing companies on Chicago’s West
Side.
- Detroit: Eastern Market’s new
community kitchen gives small business owners access to
professional kitchens and connections, and Bizdom is strengthening
the environment for e-commerce businesses in Detroit.
- Kansas City: The University of
Missouri-Kansas City’s Free Enterprise Center will provide growing
businesses access to high tech equipment including 3D printing to
help them develop new products.
- Los Angeles: LA Cleantech has
brought together business, government, and academia in LA to grow
the city’s cleantech sector and is now developing satellites
throughout California and internationally.
- Milwaukee: The Water Council
connects freshwater research, innovation, education, and business
development to make Milwaukee a hub of water technology.
- Newark: The New Jersey
Innovation Institute applies the intellectual and technological
resources of the New Jersey Institute of Technology to challenges
identified by industry partners.
- New Orleans: New Orleans
BioInnovation Center is a health sciences incubator that supports
promising, high growth companies.
- San Francisco: QB3 is a lead
partner of BioSF, a collaboration between academia and government
to develop a biotech industry cluster in San Francisco.
- Seattle: Washington Interactive
Network is growing interactive media and technology companies that
are generating high-quality jobs in across Puget Sound.
- St. Louis: BioSTL is building
the regional infrastructure in the bioscience sectors of health and
healthcare IT.
LA Cleantech provides a good example of the kinds of success
that today’s clusters are producing. In less than three years, LA
Cleantech has helped more than 30 companies create 400 new jobs,
raise $40 million in capital and generate more than $90 million in
long-term economic value for the City of Los Angeles.
“The best way to build new companies is by creating tightly
focused, all-inclusive, small business clusters that harness a
region’s strengths,” said Fred Walti, LA Cleantech’s executive
director. “With JPMorgan Chase’s support, we’re building a
cleantech cluster for Los Angeles that’s the second largest green
economy in the nation with the highest number of cleantech
start-ups.”
Small business advocates in Congress and mayors of leading
American cities reaffirmed the importance of the Small Business
Forward initiative and clusters as economic development tools to
accentuate their regional economic strengths and sow the seeds of
innovation.
U.S. Senator James Risch (ID), Ranking Member, Senate Small
Business and Entrepreneurship Committee: “I want to commend
JPMorgan Chase for making a sizeable contribution to help small
businesses innovate and compete. Private sector experience and
expertise can be a catalyst to small firms, especially startups,
and I look forward to seeing how this investment helps
entrepreneurs expand and hire.”
Rep. Sam Graves (MO-06), Chair, House Small Business
Committee: “Private sector investments like this not only fuel
business startups but really transform communities and local
economies. We applaud JPMorgan Chase for providing private sector
leverage for these organic movements of innovation and ingenuity.
As our nation’s recovery continues, this program will truly assist
small business to network and find resources within their local
community that allow them to grow and create jobs.”
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: “In Chicago, we are pursuing
bold new strategies to grow our economy. JPMorgan Chase’s support
of the Austin Manufacturing Innovation Park is a key element of
this remarkable public-private partnership that will bring hundreds
of good jobs to Austin and the West Side.”
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti: “JPMorgan Chase’s
support of the clean tech sector in Los Angeles is an innovative
investment in our city’s future. Small businesses are a key engine
of job creation, and JPMorgan Chase’s initiative helps connect
small businesses with the resources they need to grow.”
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu: “As we continue to
rebuild New Orleans, we have experienced the eye-opening impact
that focused support and investment have in creating a new economy
based on knowledge, technology and innovation. We have especially
appreciated JPMorgan Chase’s support of our economic blueprint,
Prosperity NOLA, and the NOLA BioInnovation Center, which points to
the potential New Orleans has to become a world class hub for
bioscience and business overall.”
For more information about the grants and research, visit
www.jpmorganchase.com/smallbusinessforward and follow
#SmallBizForward on Twitter.
About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is a leading global
financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and
operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking,
financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial
banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A
component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase &
Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of
the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government
clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
Follow us on Twitter @Chase and @ChaseSmallBiz, and at
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Media:JPMorgan Chase & Co.Steve O’Halloran, 302-282-5699
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