Initiative Targets Asian Firms
Hoping to increase the number and size of businesses in the Los Angeles area owned by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a consortium of business groups plans to announce a major outreach initiative today.
Offering in-language counseling, workshops and fund-raising assistance, the initiative is aimed at harnessing the potential of this growing business segment and blunting the impact of the worsening economy.
“In light of the regional economic downturn, the initiative is seen as something of substance to assist in the recovery,” said H. Cooke Sunoo, director of the Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program, a nonprofit business assistance group spearheading the effort.
The initiative will function as a free business counseling service offering guidance on topics ranging from finding a Web site designer to putting entrepreneurs in touch with procurement departments at major corporations, Sunoo said.
The effort, which is to be detailed today at a news conference at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, is expected to cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” and will be funded by financial services companies, including Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo, private foundations and government business assistance agencies, Sunoo said.
It is being launched as a joint effort of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and local Asian business organizations.
Nationwide, the number of noncorporate U.S. businesses owned by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders grew 30% from 1992 to 1997, four times faster than the nation’s overall business growth rate, according to U.S. census data released in May.
In Los Angeles County, the number grew by more than 25%, to more than 114,000 in 1997.
Even if the current lackluster economy keeps companies from growing in the short run, with efforts such as the initiative, businesses will be better poised for the rebound, business experts said.
“This is awkward timing to start the initiative,” said Charlie Woo, chairman of the chamber board. “But we are in a survival mode. This will help make sure these businesses stick around for the upswing.”
