An Ambitious Goal
This goal was developed in response to the 2021 Minority Businesses Economic Impact Report that showed NMSDC-certified MBEs not only weathered the pandemic but grew from 2019 to 2021, reporting $261 billion in total revenues, a 22% increase over 2019. Unfortunately, this only represented 1.13% of the 2021 U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).
With systematically excluded communities of color representing a growing majority of the U.S. population, 1% of GDP was a far cry from equitable economic representation – something needed to be done.
The decision was made to not wait another 50 years to cover the same distance but to disrupt the status quo and close the equity gap once and for all.
We began our march towards a prosperity that is generative and transformative – for the certified MBEs and communities gaining contracts, employment, and economic resilience. And for a world that is made far better by their contributions to it.
Fortunately, we were not alone in our march. Many of our corporate members stepped up with renewed pledges to increase their spend with MBEs:
- Cognizant pledged to commit to at least $700 million in 2022 with historically underrepresented minority-owned businesses.
- Disney pledged to spend at least $1 billion annually with diverse suppliers by 2024.
- Google aimed to grow spending with diverse suppliers to $2.5 billion in 2022 while expanding its program beyond the U.S. to include suppliers from historically underrepresented groups around the world.
- MillerKnoll committed to increasing their spend an average of 5% over the next five years with Black, Hispanic, Asian Indian, and Native American businesses.
- Dupont pledged to spend $1 billion with minority businesses by 2030.
And the list goes on, even including the very MBEs we are here to serve. Many stepped up and pledged to reach back by increasing their own diverse supplier base and spend with fellow minority businesses.
This march to $1 trillion is only an initial step, a rallying cry to put the U.S. on notice. This problem is bigger than any one organization. NMSDC cannot do it alone. It will take a coalition of organizations, industry leaders, business owners, and changes in policy to reach true economic equity. NMSDC will not stop working until we close the equity gap and have economic representation that reflects the changing demographics of our country’s population.
Economic Impact Report
As we advocate, certify, develop, and connect, we will ensure our stakeholders understand the impact of every dollar spent with NMSDC and our certified MBEs.
