BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
According to the 2013 Impact Report compiled by Interise, a trusted partner for accelerating economic growth, small business owners across the country that participated in its program created and retained 12,114 net new jobs, a 50 percent increase from the previous year. The annual report, which surveyed 827 small business owners who are graduates of Interise’s StreetWise ‘MBA’™ curriculum, highlights how small businesses continue to strengthen local business, grow jobs and transform communities.
“Despite tough economic times, many of our small business owners reported their strongest year to date,” said Interise’s CEO Jean Horstman. “Through our comprehensive StreetWise ‘MBA’™ curriculum, small businesses gain the tools to build their business, create jobs and revitalize local economies. Our annual Impact Report underscores the importance of focusing on the development of local small businesses so that they can provide a greater impact on economic resilience, employment and innovation within their communities. We look forward to making 2015 an even bigger and more impactful year as we continue to expand into new cities with new partners.”
Small businesses continue to bring a variety of opportunities to their local and regional economies, from job creation to innovation. According to the report, StreetWise ‘MBA’™ small business owners created jobs at five times the rate of the private sector and had an average annual increase in revenue of $486,000. Additional key findings in the 2013 Impact Report include:
“We are thrilled at the results after three years of working with Interise in the under-served communities of Pittsburgh,” said Rhonda Carson Leach, director, Urban Entrepreneurship Program, Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, University of Pittsburgh. “One hundred percent of our graduates report they would recommend the program to fellow small business owners and 83 percent maintained all employees or added new positions in 2013.”
Since 2004, Interise has partnered with 13 government and private organizations to serve 2,100 small businesses in 36 communities across the United States. Interise’s StreetWise ‘MBA’™ curriculum is designed to help grow small businesses, create jobs and revitalize local economies. The curriculum is incorporated into programs in four regions of Massachusetts and through partnerships with universities, hospitals, municipalities and economic development organizations in communities across the country and internationally.
To evaluate its entrepreneurs across the country for its annual Impact Report, Interise uses a set of social and economic indicators to assess its effectiveness promoting small businesses and energizing job creation in low- to moderate-income communities. The full Interise 2013 Impact Report can be viewed at http://www.interise.org/.
ABOUT INTERISE
Since 2004, Interise has taken an innovative approach to economic development in lower-income communities by helping existing small business owners plan, achieve, and manage the long-term growth of their business. More than 2,100 entrepreneurs in over 36 locations across the country have completed the StreetWise ‘MBA’™ curriculum with extraordinary results. Historically, Interise graduates created jobs at nearly 10x the rate of the private sector as a whole. More information can be found at www.interise.org. @StreetWise_MBA