The NMSDC Weekly Pulse: The Next Chapter of the American Economy
“Will our marketplace reflect the country America is becoming?”
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, we have an opportunity to ask this critical question about the future of the American economy. As new technologies arise, as political and cultural turbulence impact us, it’s clear that things are changing.
Our nation’s demographics are evolving.
Our workforce is in flux.
Our consumers are more diverse than ever.
Yet even as we’ve evolved as a society and country, too often our supply chains, capital flows and procurement systems still reflect the economy of yesterday. This gap between what is and what could be represents one of the greatest untapped economic opportunities in the United States today.
Across the country, nearly 10 million minority-owned businesses are operating in every sector of the economy. Together, they generate close to $2 trillion in annual economic activity and support more than 9 million American jobs. That numbers alone would make minority entrepreneurship one of the most powerful economic engines in the nation.
But the real story isn’t what these businesses are doing today. The real story is what could happen if the marketplace fully caught up with America’s demographics.
Today, people of color, women and others represent a rapidly growing share of the US population and consumer base. In many communities, they are already the majority of new entrepreneurs, new workers and new consumers.
Yet business ownership, procurement spending and access to capital still lag behind those demographic realities.
That gap represents lost growth.
Lost innovation.
Lost competitiveness.
Imagine a strong economy where the marketplace truly reflects the people who make up the country.
Imagine diversified supply chains that fully leveraged the innovation, agility and market insight of America’s entrepreneurs.
Imagine the resilience created by more distributed suppliers, more regional producers and more entrepreneurial ecosystems.
That’s not just good for minority businesses.
It’s good for America.
Diversified suppliers deliver:
- Stronger supply chains that are less concentrated and more resilient
- Greater economic sustainability through broader participation in growth
- More innovation from entrepreneurs serving rapidly evolving markets
- Greater competitiveness as the US mobilizes the full talent of its population
In a global economy defined by intense competition — from China, Europe and emerging markets — the United States cannot afford to leave economic potential on the sidelines.
The nations that will lead the 21st-century economy will be those that fully activate the talent of their entire population.
America has always grown strongest when it widened the circle of opportunity.
From immigrants building industries to women entering the workforce, to new generations of entrepreneurs launching companies that reshape markets.
Minority entrepreneurship is the next chapter of the American business story.
At the National Minority Supplier Development Council, we see this every day through the businesses in our network. Today, NMSDC-certified minority business enterprises generate nearly $600 billion in economic output and support millions of jobs across the country.
We believe the bigger opportunity lies ahead. When the marketplace catches up with the demographics of America, the result will be greater prosperity for all, prosperity that strengthens our companies, our supply chains and our nation’s economic security.
The best way forward is to ensure the American economy is built by and for all of us.
Learn how NMSDC supports MBEs and our corporate members to be successful.
