Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 6, 1 Iune 1990 — Aid to minority-owned business [ARTICLE]

Aid to minority-owned business

The Honolulu Minority Business Development Center (HMBDC) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce to promote the creation and/or expansion of viable competitive minority owned businesses. The objectives include increasing the availability of capital and contracting opportunities from public and private sources for minority owned businesses. HMBDC is operated by Grant Thornton, an internationa! CPA and management consulting firm in Honolulu. The center serves ethnic minority-owned companies that are in the process of starting, expanding or stabilizing their operations. Ownership in the proposed or established business must be held by a member or members of one or more of the following groups designated by the

Minority Business Development Agency: AsianPacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Eskimos, Aleuts, Asian-Indians and Hasidic Jews. At least 51 percent of the business must be owned, operated and controlled by minority individuals. The HMBDC is required to charge a fee for management and technical assistance. Start-ups or established businesses with sales up to $500,000 are charged $10 per hour while those with sales in excess of $500,000 are charged $17.50 per hour. For more information contact Duane K. Okamoto, project director, Pacific Tower, Suite 2900, at 1001 Bishop Street, Honolulu, Hawai'i, 96813, or eall 531-6232.