The Keys to Equitably Unlocking Small Business Potential

Small business finance is often discussed as a single, static problem: Entrepreneurs need capital, and capital isn't reaching them. But access looks entirely different depending on where a business sits and who governs the ground beneath it. A rural town in the Mississippi Delta, a mid-sized Southern city, and a sovereign tribal nation each face their own version of the same challenge, shaped by different histories, different systems, and, increasingly, different levels of federal disruption.

This conversation, recorded live at SOCAP25, brings together these three vantage points to explore how targeted business support and cross-sector collaboration can help reduce marginalization and build more resilient local economies for socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs.