Supporting Diverse Businesses

Proactively supporting small businesses cultivates diverse communities, increases employment opportunities, and attracts skilled talent. The Chamber’s Entrepreneur Services department aims to ensure that barriers do not prevent women, Black, Hispanic, minority, and justice-involved business owners from pursuing their dreams. We have specific business resources that aim to ensure entrepreneurs of all backgrounds are set up for and achieve success. Explore them below.

African Americans college students e-leaning with their teacher during a class.

Enterprise Corps

Presented in partnership with IU Kelley School of Business, the Indy Black Chamber, and the Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council, Enterprise Corps is an accelerator aimed at supporting minority- and women-owned businesses. 

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Procurement Roundtable

Business Equity for Indy (BEI) is a joint effort of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, the Indy Chamber, in collaboration with the Indianapolis Urban League to grow a more inclusive business climate and build greater equity and economic opportunity for the Indy Region’s Black residents and people of color.

The BEI Procurement Taskforce exists to increase the launch, growth, and success of Black-owned enterprises through expanded procurement opportunities. Quarterly Procurement Roundtable events allow purchasers and suppliers to unite behind increasing supplier diversity.

Interested in attending the next Procurement Roundtable?

Visit the BEI Website to Sign Up

Hispanic Business Council

Hispanic-owned firms generate roughly $1.1 billion in revenue across the nine-county, Indy region. Hispanic businesses have a unique set of needs as they look to build their brand in the Indy region. Through the Hispanic Business Council, the Indy Chamber provides a variety of free resources to those business owners. Best of all? We offer support in English and Spanish.

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Central Indiana Women’s Business Center

The US is home to 12.3 million women-owned businesses generating $1.8 trillion annually, according to Fundera. In 2022, women started 1,821 net new businesses every day. Across the Indy region, women like you are turning your passions into profits through entrepreneurship—and the Central Indiana Women’s Business Center (CIWBC) is here to support you along that journey.

The CIWBC is a cooperative program, funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Through the CIWBC, you can access the tools you need, when you need them most. Whether you’re navigating business start-up needs, struggling to access capital, or simply looking for support on your journey—we’ve got you covered.

Open Monday – Friday (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Evening and weekend hours available by appointment

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Re-Entry Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (REDi), an anchor program of the Indy Chamber’s Entrepreneur Services division, creates opportunities for current and formerly incarcerated individuals to explore small business ownership as a means of self-sufficiency.

REDi provides a six-week training course and one on one coaching for justice-involved individuals. It has helped launch 35 businesses. The training course is a foundational course that teaches things like cash flow, market research, and customer relations. REDi is a program of the Business Ownership Initiative (BOI) that provides over 10,000 hours of business coaching and over $400,000 in lending capital across the Indy region each year.

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