Michigan’s Black Businesses Win $300K State Grant

News

Published by Stephen Oluwadara at June 30, 2025

Solving The US Black-owned Business Underrepresentation

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. coordinates the Trusted Connector Grant program, which was awarded a total of $6.8 million to 23 organizations statewide.

The recently awarded $300,000 grant supports the coalition’s goal of linking business owners with local leaders and resources, said Nicole Triplett, founder of Black Wall Street Kalamazoo.

“Our focus isn’t on replicating the models of large organizations, we’re building systems that don’t create gaps in the first place,” Triplett said. “We center the lived experiences, resilience, and resourcefulness that have sustained Black communities for generations while producing scale, even when those efforts fall outside of conventional frameworks.”

U.S. Black-owned businesses are generally underrepresented. According to the 2024 State of Black Business report, they also tend to have smaller employee counts and lower revenue compared to other businesses.

Black-owned businesses comprise 2.5% of all businesses in the U.S., a slight increase from 2% in 2018. Most Black-owned companies have between one and four employees, and 97% of all Black-owned businesses have fewer than 20 employees.

Furthermore, Black-owned businesses, on average, make less than other demographics, with the majority of Black-owned companies (58%) making under $100,000 in annual revenue, according to the report.

“Despite advancements in civil rights and the emergence of affirmative action policies, disparities persist in access to capital, markets, and resources,” according to the report. “The consequences of these disparities are far-reaching, contributing to lower rates of business ownership, limited growth opportunities, and higher rates of business closures among Black-owned enterprises.”

How the $300,000 Grant Will Be Deployed

A huge part of the West Michigan coalition’s work of connecting business owners with resources has been happening behind the scenes, commented Jamiel Robinson, the president and CEO of Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses (GRABB).

The state grant will accelerate the work better regionally and form an official organization, as well as help businesses they serve scale up across the region, Robinson added.

“What this grant will allow us to do is to continue to serve who we serve, but also allow us to look at ways in which we can collaborate more closely from a regional perspective,” Robinson said. “Especially coming out of COVID, when resources were being allocated, a lot of the state and federal funding was being awarded by region, not necessarily by individual community or city. There wasn’t really a voice from the urban areas within and it was not as equitable, especially as relief was administered very early on in the first couple of rounds.”

For its part, GRABB has been leading the District 2012 project on Grand Rapids’ south side. The project will serve as an incubator for Black-owned businesses, providing entrepreneurs with coworking resources and space to sell their products.

Construction had been delayed multiple times, including during the pandemic; however, Robinson expects to be able to move into the building by mid-2026.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has received 44 applications requesting a total of $15 million in funding through the Trusted Connector Grant program.

“Receiving a grant isn’t just funding, it’s a launchpad,” Lashae Simmons II, founder and president of Black Wall Street Muskegon, said in a statement. “We take that opportunity, multiply it, build on it, and pass it forward so under-represented entrepreneurs can rise higher.”

Image Credit: Courtesy of Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses