TODAY: Obama Cabinet Member in Nashville to Highlight Immigrant Entrepreneurs

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and a member of President Obama's Cabinet, will be in Nashville, TN to amplify the New Americans Agenda with visits to local immigrant owned small businesses.  The New Americans Agenda encourages immigrant and refugee integration into American communities and to foster entrepreneurship and small business growth. 

Administrator Contreras-Sweet's visit will highlight the precedent-setting work Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has done to make immigrants feel welcome, including establishing the Mayor's Office of New Americans and several programs to empower the city's immigrants and refugees and connect them with government resources. The White House Task Force on New Americans celebrated the city's work in its report to President Obama last week, calling Nashville's MyCity Academy a great example of a local government "recognizing the potential of new Americans as volunteers and active participants in their city's civic life." MyCity Academy is a first-of-its kind leadership training program that helps New Americans understand how Nashville's government works.

Immigrant-owned firms today employ 1 in 10 U.S. workers and immigrant entrepreneurs are twice as likely to start a business as native-born citizens. While they account for 16 percent of the labor force nationally, immigrants make up 28 percent of Main Street Business owners. Immigrants represent 61 percent of all gas station owners, 53 percent of grocery store owners, 38 percent of restaurant owners, and 32 percent of jewelry store and clothing store owners.

Immigrant entrepreneurs are creating jobs in neighborhoods where they're needed the most. In so doing, they're contributing to America's entrepreneurial character.  Many immigrant entrepreneurs have taken advantage of SBA's Microloan Program which provides access to small dollar loans to successfully grow communities. In the past two years, SBA has provided over $600,000 in microloan financing to Tennessee entrepreneurs.

Advisory Number: MA 15-26
Contact: Miguel Ayala (202) 450-0148
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

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