Urban League of Greater Cleveland Partners with Sherwin-Williams for Accelerator

CLEVELAND – In an effort to better help minority-owned construction companies in Cleveland, the Sherwin-Williams Foundation and the Urban League of Greater Cleveland (Cleveland, OH) have partnered to begin a new Construction Accelerator Program (CAP).

The pilot program will have minority-owned businesses access to business resources currently unavailable to them. Resources such mentorship, access to capital, education on processes and construction management tools. Businesses would also be able to qualify for business loans through UBIZ Venture Capital, which operates via the Urban League’s Entrepreneurship Center.

Both sides are excited about the partnership.

John G. Morikis, President of the Sherwin-Williams Foundation and Chief Executive Officer of the Sherwin-Williams Company, said, “The Sherwin-Williams Foundation is pleased to partner with the Urban League of Greater Cleveland to positively impact the greater Cleveland community and support minority-owned business growth through fostering economic inclusion for minority-owned business growth through fostering economic inclusion for minority-owned construction companies. The CAP aligns well with our Company’s commitment to create jobs and to positively impact the broader Cleveland and Northeast Ohio community, and we are excited to be on the ground floor of an instrumental program designed to accelerate the growth of minority-owned construction businesses for many years to come.”

The Urban League of Greater Cleveland’s President and CEO, Marsha Mockabee, matches Mr. Morikis’ excitement.

“The Urban League is extremely excited to partner with the Sherwin-Williams Foundation on the Construction Accelerator Program because it directly supports our goals of economic inclusion and opens opportunities and access that will help reduce historical barriers that minority-owned businesses experience in the construction industry and across the board,” she said.

MBE-certified businesses within the construction industry will be the targeted audience of the Construction Accelerator Program. Participating businesses, after meeting with certain criteria, will then move through the Urban League’s UBIZ Accelerator Curriculum, which should then help their business succeed.

For more information, please see the original article here.