What Has André Carson Done For Black-Owned Small Businesses?

Less Than 2% of Venture Capital Reaches Black-Owned Businesses. 18 Years. No Federal Initiative.

Wednesday, April 29

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Indianapolis, IN — Black-owned small businesses are the economic backbone of Indianapolis neighborhoods.

 

They employ local residents. They keep dollars circulating in communities that have been systematically starved of investment. They represent generational wealth-building in a city where the racial wealth gap isn’t a statistic but a daily reality felt in households across the district. They are, in the most literal sense, what community economic development looks like when it actually works.

 

And they’re being left behind.

 

Nationally, less than 2% of venture capital flows to Black-owned businesses. Access to capital—the foundational requirement for starting, sustaining, and growing a business—remains one of the most persistent and consequential barriers facing Black entrepreneurs in Indianapolis and across the country. Small Business Administration (SBA) lending programs that should serve this community are chronically underutilized in underserved markets. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) that exist specifically to fill this gap are underfunded. Technical assistance programs that help entrepreneurs navigate the process of applying for federal contracts and grants are thin on the ground in Indianapolis.

 

André Carson has represented this city for 18 years.

 

No federal initiative specifically designed to close the capital access gap for Black-owned businesses in Indianapolis bears his name. No legislation he has authored has addressed the structural barriers that keep less than 2 cents of every venture dollar from reaching Black entrepreneurs. No comprehensive strategy connecting Indianapolis's Black business community to federal contracting opportunities, SBA programs, CDFI lending, and competitive grant funding has emerged from his office.

 

Larry Williams—founder and president of the Indy Black Chamber of Commerce—has been doing this work on the ground for years. The organizations fighting for Black business survival in Indianapolis know the gaps intimately. What they haven’t had is a congressman using the full weight of the federal government to close them.

 

A member of Congress with 18 years of seniority, relationships at the Small Business Administration, the Department of Commerce, and the Treasury Department, and a seat representing one of the most significant Black business communities in the Midwest has the tools to change this equation. Federal contracting set-asides, CDFI capitalization, SBA technical assistance expansion, venture capital regulatory reform…these are all levers available to a congressman willing to pull them.

 

Those levers haven’t been pulled. The gap remains.

 

"Less than 2% of venture capital reaches Black-owned businesses," Hornedo said. "In a district with one of the most vibrant Black business communities in the Midwest, that’s not acceptable. 18 years of representation and no federal initiative specifically designed to close that gap. The Indy Black Chamber of Commerce has been fighting for these businesses on the ground. They deserve a congressman who fights for them in Washington with the same urgency. That's what this seat should be used for. That's what's been missing."

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This is part of the Hornedo campaign's daily accountability series, What Has André Carson Done?, running through May 1st. Learn more at georgehornedo.com.

 

Indianapolis deserves more than a vote in Washington. It deserves a congressman who uses the full platform of the office to fight for federal resources, to force the conversation at every level of government, and to show up for this community before the cameras arrive. That's the standard. That's what's been missing.

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RECORD CHECK: The Center for Effective Lawmaking ranks Congressman Carson 197th out of 220 House Democrats in legislative effectiveness. Of his claimed 22 bills signed into law, 2 are standalone enacted bills—the Ariel Rios Federal Building naming and the Kennedy-King National Commemorative Site Act. 

 

73% of Congressman Carson's campaign funding comes from PACs, much of it from corporate PACs including AES Indiana, BlackRock, and defense contractors. Only 7% comes from small-dollar donors.

 

When Julia Carson held this seat, Indianapolis was a competitive Democratic stronghold that helped power statewide wins. Under André Carson, the 7th Congressional District has become the worst in Indiana for voter turnout and Democrats haven't won statewide since 2012.