Diversity Wins
#2
Destinations that Elevate Black Culture Year-Round, Trazee Travel
#2
Cities that Celebrate Black History All Year Long, The Vacationer
#3
Cities that Black Americans Should Consider for Career Growth in 2022, Travel Noire
#1
Best city in the nation with the highest % of Minority Owned Businesses that have $500K+ in revenues (43.3%)
#1
in the Nation with the highest % of Minority Owned Businesses in Operation for 6+ years (62.3%)
Top 10
Cities for Successful Minority Business Enterprises
Why the Cincinnati region?
We have a proven record of growing Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs).
Since 2003, the Accelerator has helped MBEs grow revenue, scale operations, and create jobs across the Cincinnati region.
The results speak for themselves:
- Grew from 20 MBEs (avg. $6.7M in sales) to 42 MBEs (avg. $25M in sales)
- Created 3,500 local jobs
- Built an MBE portfolio with over $1 billion in sales
In the next 5 years, the Accelerator plans to add $1 billion in aggregate annual revenues and create 3,500 more jobs.
A national leader in MBE success
Cincinnati stands out as a place where MBEs generate meaningful revenue and build staying power. The strength of this ecosystem means companies have a better chance of breaking past early barriers and achieving long-term growth. The Accelerator builds on that advantage, offering a one-of-a-kind collaboration that connects firms with major buyers across the region, opening doors to new sales opportunities and sustained success.
Our partners are committed to your success.
Our partners are committed to helping MBEs succeed. Through the Accelerator, we connect MBEs with 41 major corporate partners (known as Goal Setters) including Macy’s, P&G, Kroger, Cintas, Jacobs, and others. These companies actively seek opportunities to purchase goods and services from diverse suppliers. Already, more than 20 MBEs from outside Cincinnati have been introduced to Goal Setters through the Accelerator, with more meetings underway.
Equitable Programming at Work for Your Success
REDI works hard with partners such as the Cincinnati Regional Chamber and JobsOhio to support additional programming for the region.
JobsOhio Small Business Grant
The JobsOhio Small Business Grant provides financial support for eligible projects within one of JobsOhio’s 10 target industries across the state. Read More →
JobsOhio Vibrant Communities Program
The JobsOhio Vibrant Communities Program recognizes that distressed communities may not have adequate resources to develop and implement economic development projects that can attract private investment and create new jobs. The program was established to assist distressed small and medium sized communities with the implementation of catalytic development projects that fulfill a market need and represent a significant reinvestment in areas that have struggled to attract new investment. Read More →
JobsOhio Pre-Project Planning Program
The Pre-Project Planning Program recognizes that small and medium-sized communities may not have adequate resources to develop catalytic economic development projects necessary to transform the community and attract private investment. This program offers targeted technical assistance to address gaps in capacity and expertise to ultimately generate more Vibrant Communities projects across the state. Read More →
Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) is the state of Ohio agency that partners with business, education, and non-profits to facilitate individualized employment plans for Ohioans with disabilities and helps Ohio employers recruit and retain employees with disabilities. Read More →
Minority Business Accelerator
The Minority Business Accelerator spurs the development of sizable minority businesses and strengthens and expands the regional minority entrepreneurial community. Read More →
Diverse by Design™
A regional initiative to attract, develop, and retain diverse, high-potential talent and move Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to full inclusion. Read More →
Workforce Innovation Center
The Cincinnati Regional Chamber’s Workforce Innovation Center is an inclusive capitalism approach to grow businesses by mitigating barriers to employment. Read More →
Cincinnati Compass
A virtual navigator to resources and connections for immigrants, refugees, ex-pats, international students and others. We welcome you to our region and hope you will use these resources to make Cincinnati your home. Read More →
Making Black History
Spotlighting Today’s Leaders. Read More →
Hear it First-Hand
“Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities is a state of Ohio agency. Our team works tirelessly to make sure that people with disabilities are a valued resource for workforce development. Over the last 30 weeks (during the COVID-19 pandemic) our team was able to place over 2,600 Ohioans with disabilities into jobs. That number is a true testament to our staff, counselors, and employer partners that we have across the state of Ohio.”
"Starting and operating any business comes with its own set of challenges. Starting and operating a minority, women-owned business adds additional challenges. Cincinnati works hard to eliminate those additional challenges by providing agencies dedicated to bringing diversity and inclusion to our region. REDI Cincinnati is a leader in this area, providing support, education and right-now solutions for ALL Cincinnati Business Leaders."
“RiskVersity places great value on the collaborative efforts across corporate, non-profit, and community. This collective approach strengthens the business ecosystem, making it more attractive to minority, women, and veteran-owned enterprises in our region. These efforts provide exciting opportunities to serve these underrepresented as well as large and middle market organizations with risk and insurance consulting services, especially given that MBEs represent less than 2% of our industry. With the backing of REDI and major local businesses, Cincinnati is poised to become a leader in economic growth, job creation, and wealth-building. REDI was instrumental in helping use secure the Inclusion Grant now rebranded as the Small Business Grant to assist us making investments to grow our business. The decision to keep Cincinnati as our headquarters remains clear due to the region's thriving business environment and strong support for inclusive growth."
"Cincinnati State’s role in our community is to provide employers with the talent they need. We’re working to make sure that our students continue building Cincinnati’s economy and we appreciate REDI as a vital partner in this work. Through strategic alignment and direct connections with businesses, REDI is essential to our mission."
"We have a thriving region because our civic and business leaders work together to prioritize growth. Whether you are a startup, medium sized business, or large corporation, you and your team can connect easily to all that this region offers. By partnering with REDI and the Chamber, and by utilizing the resources we’ve created such as cincinnatiexperience.com, your company can take full advantage of the business growth and economic development potential in this region."
“You have really talented individuals who are working for Fortune 100 companies that might want to dive into the startup scene. The cost of living’s cheap. You have really talented people all over the place. You have an awesome startup ecosystem and a lot of approachable investors, whether that be through CincyTech USA or the Queen City Angels. You have a lot of incubator programs that are right here in the heart of Cincinnati, like Cintrifuse and The Brandery. You have a lot of the guts of what a good startup city should be."
“Throughout my career as an economic development practitioner, my goal was to attract minority-owned companies to the Cincinnati region and the seeds were planted. Now I am leading a minority-owned company myself and personally have the opportunity to expand our business due to assistance from the State and REDI Cincinnati. I am proud to be based in the great State of Ohio as we work to help major companies deliver their products from coast to coast.”
“REDI was an instrumental partner in the movement of our Headquarters to the Queensgate area. Our roots are planted in Cincinnati, so we knew we wanted to stay here. The new office allowed us to maximize our collaboration, promote profitability, and broaden our community reach in a new area of town, hoping to spur future development. With REDI’s aid, we were able to hire 10 new employees and retain 80 while investing $4.3M in capital investment.”
