Minority-Owned Businesses

Resources for Minority-Owned Businesses

Below are organizations that empower minority entrepreneurs to overcome challenges and build thriving, successful businesses. They provide essential tools, guidance, and connections in support of the mission to close the gap in access to information, funding, and mentorship.

APANO - Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon

APANO Communities United Fund (CUF) — also known as APANO — unites Asians and Pacific Islanders to build power, develop leaders, and advance equity through organizing, advocacy, community development and cultural work.

  • APANO offers support and access to resources for API businesses in Multnomah and Washington County and all businesses in the Jade District and Old Town.

    If you have an idea for a new business and need some guidance, or if you are an established business in need of assistance, referrals to resources, or general assistance, schedule a 1-on-1 consultation. 

    For Portland-area businesses, reach out to Grace, Small Business Advisor Manager.

    For businesses located in Washington County, reach out to Peyton, Small Business Advisor.

  • Through an organization-wide leadership development model, APANO aims to grow the analysis, skills and confidence of Asian and Pacific Islanders to take action to improve their lives and achieve social justice for generations to come.

BACC - Black American Chamber of Commerce

The Black American Chamber of Commerce‘s mission is to be a catalyst of economic development by uplifting, empowering, and educating the Black business community.

  • The BACC connects their members with vetted professional service providers and funding opportunities of all types. Contact the BACC.

  • The BACC's technical assistance to help improve business processes and open up opportunities for your business to grow.

  • BACC collaborates with partners to offer low-cost or free seminars and workshops on topics like Financial Readiness, Contract Basics, Cyber Security, Bookkeeping, and more.

  • BACC provides support in navigating the complexities of governmental systems and ensures members' voices are heard in government and professional circles.

BBA Oregon - Black Business Association of Oregon

The Black Business Association of Oregon (BBAO) is an economic development organization that strives to achieve economic equity that is sustainable and lasting in the state of Oregon. The BBOA focuses on building up Black businesses, entrepreneurs, students, and communities in Oregon. Their most important goal is to bring about economic equity for Black Oregonians and elevate Black businesses across the state.

  • The BBAO helps to retain Black businesses in Oregon, foster growth, increase their revenues, and enhance their competitiveness in the broader marketplace.


    The BBAO visits Black businesses annually to conduct business retention and expansion surveys as an economic development strategy to proactively connect with existing businesses, establish relationships, and collect data. Click here for services.

  • • Creating business ideas – The BBAO helps entrepreneurs identify niche opportunities in various industry sectors to start a business and connects them with financial institutions and investors that provide start-up capital.

    • Business acquisition – The BBAO helps entrepreneurs identify existing businesses to purchase and connects them to financial institutions that provide acquisition capital.

    • Franchises – The BBAO helps entrepreneurs discover franchise concepts and opportunities that are the right fit for them to purchase.The BBAO will also connect entrepreneurs with attorneys who provide discounts for legal assistance with franchise documents and connect them to financial institutions that provide acquisition capital. Click here for services.


  • The BBAO assesses workforce development needs of companies, strengthens the Black talent pool of workers, and matches them to employment opportunities from employers across the state of Oregon. Click here for services.

    • Corporate employment – The BBAO helps corporations in Oregon find qualified Black employees and assist with recruiting them for job opportunities.

    • Customized job training – The BBAO collaborates with workforce development partners to create customized job training programs to provide Black residents with the skills they need to get employment with companies across the state of Oregon.

    • Youth Internships – The BBAO works with businesses to provide paid internships for Black youth to earn wages while in school and exposes them to career pathways that will lead success.

  • Black Business Recruiting

    The BBAO recruits Black businesses from around the country to relocate or set up operations in the state of Oregon. Click here for services.


COBID - Certification Office for Business Inclusion & Diversity

The primary goal of certification is to level the playing field by providing certified firms a fair opportunity to compete for government contracts regardless of owner ethnicity, gender, disability, or firm size. Government projects may have specific requirements or targets for their contracts to be awarded to minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned businesses, and emerging small businesses.

  • Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women Business Enterprise (WBE) certifications are for minority-owned and women-owned businesses seeking opportunities for state, county, and city government, and special jurisdiction (e.g. hospitals and universities) contracts. M/WBE are based on the individual rather than the size of the business.

  • Veteran Business Enterprise (VBE) certification is for service-disabled veteran-owned and veteran-owned businesses seeking opportunities for state, county, and city government, and special jurisdiction (e.g. hospitals and universities) contracts.

  • Emerging Small Business (ESB) certification is for Oregon small businesses seeking opportunities for state, county, and city government, and special jurisdiction (e.g. hospitals and universities) contracts. ESB is a race and gender neutral program based on the size of the business rather than the individual. Businesses are limited to 12 years participation.

HMC - Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber

The Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber (HMC) Mission is to lead the economic advancement, wealth creation and equity for Latinos in Oregon and SW Washington. Their Vision is to close the Latino economic equity gap and create intergenerational wealth.

  • HMC’s business development team offers no cost, confidential technical assistance in Spanish and English to business owners. Contact HMC for more details.

  • A primary goal of HMC is to cultivate Latino career and leadership advancement to influence inclusive, sustainable community and economic development. Click here to learn more.

  • To provide support and encourage Latino students to continue their higher education, The Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber provides annual scholarship awards to qualifying applicants. Click here to learn more.

Livelihood NW

Livelihood NW provides free and low cost professional business support services throughout Oregon and SW Washington. Their services are centered around breaking down barriers and addressing the wealth gap for underserved populations, specifically low-to-moderate income individuals, BIPOC, women, and the LGBTQ+ community.

Services are available in both English and Spanish and include one-on-one in-depth technical assistance, business advising, workshops, trainings, cohort learning, bookkeeping setup & training, resource navigation and referrals.

You might qualify for special funding reserved for those who historically have had less opportunities to build wealth and access capital. Get in touch with us to learn more.

  • You might qualify for special funding reserved for those who historically had less opportunities to build wealth and access capital. Schedule a meeting with a Business Advisor or an Open Business Advising appointment to get started.

MBDA - Business Impact NW

The Oregon Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is managed and operated by Business Impact NW, a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) dedicated to serving underbanked entrepreneurs.

  • The Capital Readiness Program empowers entrepreneurs from underserved communities to secure business funding and capital investment. Click here to get started.

  • Business Impact NW provides four annual events every year to support local entrepreneurs.  These events focus on providing resources, growth opportunities, funding, and celebration of achievement.

  • You can talk with an advisor who can support you and help point you in the right direction. MBDA is committed to delivering free one-on-one business coaching for all aspiring, new, and established business owners. They partner with you to provide the tools and resources you need to successfully run a business.

NWNC - NW Native Chamber

By advancing educational economic opportunities for Natives in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, NWNC works diligently to support Native communities to build lasting wealth.

  • At Startup NorthWest, we know the business challenges you face, but rest assured you are not alone. Small Businesses and service providers from across the state are here to help get you timely and actionable information on a variety of topics to help meet your small business needs. Click here to get started or choose one of the business stages below.

  • The Native Technical Assistance Program (Native TAP) is a specialized initiative designed to offer no-cost technical assistance to Native, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian individuals, businesses, and communities in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Native TAP is dedicated to working with all members of the community to advance the educational and economic opportunities for Natives in the Greater Pacific Northwest.

  • The Northwest Native Chambers flagship business development program is a 9 week course led by Native entrepreneurs is designed to offer invaluable insights into the intricacies of launching and/or sustaining a business as a Native entrepreneur. Our program is composed of eight dynamic modules, each rooted in personal narratives and captivating stories told by successful Native business owners. The 9th week is for graduation, where you will provide a short presentation of your business!

OAME - Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs

The Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs - OAME is a non-profit membership organization founded in 1987 with the mission to promote and develop entrepreneurship and economic development for ethnic minorities in the State of Oregon & SW Washington. OAME focuses on providing support services to small businesses.

  • Through a federal grant by the Small Business Administration, OAME is able to provide free one-on-one counseling to business owners. We assist each individual business owner with designing an action plan for business plan creation, administration of the business, marketing, budgeting, location, and financing.

  • OAME’s subsidiary company, Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs Credit Corporation, incorporates creative initiatives to aid firms in identifying appropriate sources of requisite financing by providing Small Business Administration Loans.

    It is the purpose of OAMECC to help minority small businesses to overcome the specific problems that limit their success and growth through technical assistance and access to needed capital.

    Types of OAME SBA Loans:

    • Accounts Receivable Loan

    A/R loans are ideal if the borrower is waiting for a payment from a client.  Example: a business owner is waiting for his client to pay him. OAMECC can provide a loan up to 80% of the invoice value.

    • Term Loan

    Term loans are based on a specific amount with a specific repayment schedule. Example: a 4 year, $20,000 loan with a 5% interest rate and payments set at $461 per month. Term loans require a complete application package and collateral. Every term loan must be approved by OAME’s Loan Committee.

ORPIB - Oregon Pride in Business

Oregon Pride in Business - ORPIB is the LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce for Oregon and SW Washington. ORPIB creates opportunities for marketing, networking, procurement, and referral-based business growth; programs that support development of business skills and expertise through workshops and seminars; and advocate for positive economic, social, and political change.

  • All Thrive in Business virtual sessions are recorded and archived for Member access.

  • ORPIB's Mentorship Program fosters encouraging environments where mentors and mentees can take their business to the next level through sharing, assisting, and coaching.

    This 6-week program provides a cohort of mentees an instant connection with experienced mentors who can coach/assist them and share their experience in building and nurturing a new business. It also gives mentors leadership opportunities to serve the LGBTQ+ entrepreneur community and strengthen its unity.

  • ORPIB's Career Readiness Courses equip LGBTQ+ individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in their careers. Throughout this program, you will have access to a variety of resources, including online courses, workshops and networking opportunities.

  • ORPIB's Incubator program is for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs that aims to streamline the pathway to doing business, provide community-driven support, and to enhance business opportunities through expertise, guidance, and education. 

    The goal of the Incubator program is to empower entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and build a new business. Ideal candidates are entrepreneurs with a great idea, a legally viable business model that offers a service, and a desire to start a Limited Liability Company (LLC). Business viability means that a business is (or has the potential to be) successful. A viable business is profitable, which means it has more revenue coming in than it’s spending on the costs of running the business.

    ORPIB’s education-focused Incubator program includes:

    • Entity Formation 

    • Logo Trademark

    • Client Service Agreement

    • NGLCC Certification – LGBTBE ($400 value) 

    • Business Development Coaching

    • Marketing Coaching

    • Accounting Coaching 

    • Executive Sponsor 

    • LAUNCH PARTY!!!

    • And More

    Applicant’s Minimum Required Qualifications:

    • Must belong to the LGBTQ+ community.

    • Must have a business plan.

    • Must be a business based in Oregon.

  • ORPIB is the only Affiliate Chapter of the NGLCC for Oregon

    What is NGLCC? The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) is the largest advocacy organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunities and advancements for LGBTQ people, and the exclusive certifying body for LGBTQ-owned businesses.

    NGLCC is the only organization that certifies LGBTQ businesses with the LGBTBE certification. LGBTBE stands for LGBT Business Enterprise.

    Becoming a Certified LGBTBE® gives your business the opportunity to compete for sourcing contracts with NGLCC's partners

    These corporate and government partners are committed to creating a diverse supply chain that is inclusive of LGBTQ-owned businesses, and have targeted amounts for spending with diverse business enterprises. Getting your business certified is a necessary element of gaining access to these billions of dollars in life-changing business opportunities.

PACCO - Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon

The Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon (PACCO) is a welcoming and inclusive community dedicated to empowering economic resiliency, affordable sustainability, and purpose-driven global commerce. PACCO creates opportunities for socially and economically disadvantaged communities. Through a equity lens framework, PACCO promotes economic opportunity, education, professionalism, and civic engagement. They offer scholarships, leadership training programs, and technical assistance to support education, skill development, and entrepreneurial success.

  • Technical Assistance For Underrepresented Businesses Program​ 2024- 2025:

    Technical Assistance For Underrepresented Businesses is a non-monetary grant, free professional technical assistance services. This is a first come first serve grant, projects may take up to two months depending on client needs. Deadline to apply: October 1, 2025.

  • PACCO and the Oregon and the Black American Chamber of Commerce have partnered together to offer a one-time direct funding opportunity (between $2,500-$25,000), and technical assistance services to chosen minority owned businesses throughout Oregon.

    Who is eligible?

    Per Oregon Senate Bill 1579, for-profit businesses in Oregon are eligible to apply for funding. Priority will be given to businesses that face a risk to their future due to a combination of two or more economic equity risk factors. These risk factors include experiencing discrimination based on race or ethnicity, English language proficiency, citizenship status, socioeconomic status, or residency or operation in a rural location.

    Disbursement Schedule:

    They will be doing final disbursements in November that will pull from a pool of those who have previously applied throughout the state. This is not a first-come first-serve grant. Businesses will be chosen based on available funds and program priorities.