National ACE 2024 Policy Agenda

Letter From Leadership

The National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE) represents the collective voice of 2.91 million Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)-owned small businesses in the United States.

Since our founding eleven years ago, our goal has been clear: to improve the economic, social, and political well-being and prosperity of AAPI small businesses and entrepreneurs. We do so through forging strong relationships with Members of Congress, the White House, business leaders, and the public and private sectors. Through these relationships, we advocate tirelessly for AAPI small business interests nationally, improve economic development, advance coalitions, build community, and foster the next generation of AAPI entrepreneurs and leaders.

In this Policy Agenda, we highlight National ACE’s leadership in public policy as well as the most pressing legislative priorities impacting the AAPI business community today. With the release of this publication, we hope to continue a dialogue on the evolving policy needs of AAPI entrepreneurs and engage with new partners in the public and private sectors to reach equitable solutions that will enhance the safety, growth, and success of AAPI businesses.

The National ACE 2024 Policy Agenda is an extension of the advocacy that National ACE has led since the last publication of our Agenda in 2023, which includes familiar subjects such as access to capital and digital equity while exploring emerging subjects, like artificial intelligence and privacy. We draw our priorities from our national and regional survey findings as well as our AAPISTRONG Small Business Roundtables.

As lawmakers look toward recovery, the contributions of AAPI entrepreneurs must not be forgotten. AAPI entrepreneurs are not strangers to hardship. In the face of economic struggle, they continue to share an underlying belief that despite everything, their businesses will survive and thrive. Survey after survey reveals their resilience that allows them to persevere through unprecedented setbacks.

The voices and stories of AAPI entrepreneurs must be taken into account during the policymaking process. Their contributions must be recognized through policies that foster a conducive environment for their health, success, and expansion. We look forward to accomplishing this through meaningful collaboration with our leaders in the public and private sectors.

We stand ready to engage in policy discussions that will stimulate positive change for our community.

Chilling Tong President & CEO National ACE

Thear Suzuki Chair, Board of Directors National ACE

Jimmy Ferguson Chair, Policy Committee National ACE

Introduction

About National ACE

The National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE) was established in 2012 to serve as the unified voice of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) entrepreneurs in the United States. Our mission is to advance the aspirations of the 2.91 million AAPI-owned businesses in the country. National ACE seeks to improve the overall economic, political, and social well-being of AAPIs by removing barriers to starting, maintaining, and growing a business. National ACE works with policymakers, business leaders, and private and public sector stakeholders to advocate for policies that ensure a productive entrepreneurial environment for AAPIs and their communities everywhere.

Building upon previous issues from 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021-22, and 2023, this 2024 Policy Agenda set forth legislative priorities that aid our mission of uplifting AAPI business owners and entrepreneurs.

Core Values and Strategies

Deliver Powerful Advocacy

Provide Business Solutions

Increase Economic Opportunities

Maintain Organizational Sustainability

Represent the united voice of the AAPI business community and advocate for policy priorities that support our community by working with national, state, and local lawmakers in a nonpartisan approach.

Connect local and regional AAPI Chambers of Commerce, strategic partners, and other stakeholders across the country and provide innovative business solutions through quality programs and services.

Contribute to our nation’s economic growth, business development, and government efficiency by supporting programs and policies that generate more AAPI business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders.

Build and operate a strong and sustainable organization recognized by peers and policymakers alike as an effective, high-performing representative and advocate for the national AAPI business community.

Snapshot of AAPI Demographics

5 Million Jobs

3

In 2021, AAPI-owned firms created over Economic Output: AAPI-owned firms with paid employees contributed over in economic output in 20214

1 Trillion

1 in 10 businesses in the United States are AAPI-owned. 3 million firms in the country are AAPI-owned. 643,000 are Asian American-owned firms with paid employees. 8,300+ are NHPI-owned (Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) firms with paid employees.1, 2

Percent of adults age 25 and over with at least a Bachelor’s degree vary between ethnicities. 80% of Taiwanese Americans have a Bachelor’s degree, compared to 17.8% of Laotian Americans.9

States with the highest Asian American populations:

Hawai’i California

New Jersey

Washington

New York5

States with the highest Pacific Islander populations:

Hawai’i Utah

Nevada

Washington

California6

The average Hmong, Burmese, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi American family in the country has more than four members

Korean and Japanese American families are the smallest among all Asian American groups, with an average family size of 3.1.12

AAPIs speak over 40 different languages and dialects. Only 15% of AAPIs aged 65 years and older speak English at home, and over half (60%) have limited English proficiency. 13

Asian Americans have a 35% rate of limited English proficiency (defined by the Census Bureau as those who do not speak English “very well”), the highest of any ethnic group. 14

Median Household Income

$138,418 Indian Americans

$69,973 Pacific Islanders7

$97,626 Asian Americans8

$66,641 Bangladeshi Americans

In 2021, 17.6% of Pacific Islanders lived in poverty.

Mongolians 25% had the highest poverty rates among Asian groups, while the lowest rate was among Indians 6%. 10

On average, Pacific Islanders have the highest rate of homelessness in the nation at 121 per 10,000 people. 11

NHPI Firms:

AA Firms:

30% owned by women

69% owned by men

28% owned by women

57% owned by men15

In 2019, there were an estimated 12.7 million AAPI women— nearly 11.9 million Asian women and almost 803,000 NHPI women—living in the United States. Together, these women represent almost 3.9% of the U.S. population.16

1.3 million Asian American womenowned businesses represent 9.4% of all women-owned businesses and 42.4% of all Asian-owned businesses. Asian American women-owned businesses generate $265.2 billion, which is 9.8% of the total revenue of all women-owned businesses.16

National ACE’s Engagements

National ACE President & CEO, Chiling Tong:

Chiling’s Current Committees:

• Council on Underserved Communities (CUC). The CUC has been tasked with providing the Small Business Administration (SBA) with input, advice, and recommendations on strategies that strengthen the minority small business community.

• Treasury’s Advisory Committee on Racial Equity (TACRE). The TACRE is a newly established advisory committee that will identify, monitor, and review aspects of the domestic economy that have directly and indirectly resulted in unfavorable conditions for Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and other communities of color.

• Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. The commission must report recommendations for a plan of action for the establishment, maintenance, and funding of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

Convenings Organized by National ACE:

• AANHPI Heritage Month Roundtable with Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.

• Six AAPISTRONG Small Business Roundtables, which bring together AAPI business owners, local leaders, and policymakers in cities across the country. This year, these roundtables were held in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Maryland (DMV), Orlando, Salt Lake City, and Hawai’i.

• Six Economic Summits hosted alongside the White House Initiative on AANHPI in Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, New York City, Washington, DC, and Hawai’i.

National ACE Grant Making to Build Up AAPI Entrepreneurs:

• Since 2021, National ACE has worked with partners in the private sector, including Grubhub, Reimagine Main Street, Verizon, Meta, Wells Fargo, and Google Nest to provide 541 grants totaling $8.1 million. These grants have helped AANHPI entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses amidst socioeconomic and political volatility.

Annual Conference:

In October 2023, National ACE hosted its Annual Conference. We were proud to host over 500 AAPI leaders, policymakers, stakeholders, and business owners. The conference focused on the current state of AAPI small businesses and fostering a fruitful business environment for AAPI entrepreneurs. We gathered government leaders and corporate executives who have been outspoken advocates for AAPI communities. Speakers included Isabella Casillas Guzman (Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration), Donald R. Cravins, Jr. (Former Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development), Erika Moritsugu (Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Senior Liaison), Krystal Ka‘ai (Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders), Kendee Yamaguchi (Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Field, Global Markets at the U.S. Department of Commerce), Sean Reyes (Attorney General of Utah), Kimberly Yee (Arizona State Treasurer), and Nathaniel Ru (Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of sweetgreen).

Key Advocacy:

Throughout 2023, National ACE endorsed several important pieces of legislation, including:

• Teaching Asian Pacific American History Act, introduced by Congresswoman Grace Meng; the Transparency in Government Contracts Act, introduced by Congressman Joaquin Castro; the Employee Equity Investment Act (EEIA), introduced by Reps. Dean Phillips, Blake Moore, Chrissy Houlahan, and Dusty Johnson; and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Relief Act, introduced by Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland.

• National ACE leadership attended several meetings, roundtable discussions, and briefings with key Administration officials, including from the White House, the U.S. Department of Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to ensure that the needs of AAPI businesses were represented in key policy discussions related to top policy priorities, including capital access and contracting.

National ACE’s Capital Readiness Program

National ACE was listed as one of the 43 non-profit community organizations nationwide receiving technical assistance funding from the Federal government for the Capital Readiness Program in August 2023. Supported by $2.65 million in funding from the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) over four years, this initiative is dedicated to addressing the most pressing challenge faced by Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) entrepreneurs: raising capital and effectively operating their businesses. National ACE is working to empower AANHPI small business owners with the resources, knowledge, skills, and connections they need to succeed in raising capital. By addressing these critical issues, we are providing a vital support system for AANHPI entrepreneurs on their journey to success.

Four-Year Goals (2023-2027)

• Enrolling 1,540 SEDI (Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individuals) entrepreneurs in our accelerator program.

• Facilitating the formation and scaling of 616 SEDI businesses.

• Graduating 1,155 SEDI entrepreneurs.

• Assisting in raising $61.6 million in capital. Hosting 28 networking events and 80 economic roundtables.

• Conducting 200 SEDI pitches to showcase the potential of our entrepreneurs.

Key Components:

Capacity Building: Providing AANHPI entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills, resources, and connections to excel in today’s competitive business landscape.

• Business advising at no cost to the client to prepare them for loan applications and the virtual pitch day with real investors and capital sources

• 8-week virtual ‘Business Accelerator’ sessions designed to guide business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs with capacity building

Access to Capital: Facilitating connections to the financial resources needed for growth.

• We have Capital Advocates who specialize in connecting our business accelerator graduates to State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) capital markets in their respective states or territories. These advocates will help with debt financing, alternative lending, and connecting business owners to funding.

Access to Networks: Building bridges between AANHPI entrepreneurs and influential business networks.

• In-person networking events, Small Business Roundtables, Virtual Pitch Day

Regional Hubs

• West Coast Hub: California and Nevada.

• East Coast Hub: New York, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.

• Virtual Hubs: Open to all 50 states.

2024 Legislative Priorities

Access to Capital

Collection of Meaningful Data

Artificial Intelligence

Workforce Development

Access to Capital

Privacy

Digital Equity

Health Equity

Sustainability Representation & Racial Equity

Commerce

Supplier Diversity

Access to capital is consistently the top concern for small businesses, especially AAPI-owned businesses, both in times of economic stability and in times of uncertainty. AAPI small business owners face unique challenges to access, compounded by language barriers, absence of technical assistance, and lack of awareness of opportunities. Since the publication of our 2023 Policy Agenda, we have gathered data from AAPI entrepreneurs on the barriers to capital that they face, where they are most likely to seek and find capital, and what actions could be taken to better support them in unlocking these opportunities.17

AAPI businesses continue to lack confidence in their financial security, ultimately holding them back from opportunities to scale and grow. In National ACE’s latest surveys with Reimagine Main Street, the majority of AAPI respondents expressed concerns about financing unexpected expenses, payroll, and large purchases, including property and equipment.18 Financial insecurity not only creates an uncertain future, but it also prevents AAPI businesses from taking their enterprises to the next level and creating intergenerational wealth. Wealth building is essential to the long-term security of AAPI families and neighborhoods, ultimately helping to achieve meaningful equity.

Capital resources and opportunities must be better promoted and shared with the AAPI business community. AAPI businesses overwhelmingly reported not knowing about funding opportunities or not believing that their businesses qualified for such opportunities. The public and private sectors must conduct intentional and effective outreach to AAPI entrepreneurs, and resources provided must be culturally-relevant and language-accessible so that AAPIs can take advantage of capital opportunities.

International

National ACE’s 2023 ‘Trust and Access to Capital’ Survey Showed:

29% 10%

Of AAPI respondents have low confidence that they could fund an unplanned $5,000 business expense.

Lack confidence that they could increase payroll, up 2% from the previous year.

Of AAPI respondents have no confidence they could fund such a business expense.

Lack confidence that they could purchase property or equipment, up from 65% the previous year.

More than half of AAPI entrepreneurs lack confidence that they could finance a purchase order or contract (53%) or get a volume discount on an inventory purchase (56%, up 3% from the previous year).19, 20

Abe Muis, owner of Krakatoa Indonesian Cuisine in Hollywood, FL, was the recipient of the 2023 AAPISTRONG Restaurant Fund. His business started at a farmer’s market ten years ago and now he is expanding to a second brick and mortar location.

About 54% of AAPI respondents in the national survey applied for a loan or other form of credit in the past year, down 2% from the previous year. Among those that did not apply, 20% reported not having a relationship with a lender, 44% reported not knowing what options were available, 29% didn’t know how to apply, and 41% did not think their business would be eligible. Among those that did apply, 54% requested less than $50,000 and 33% requested between $50,000 and $250,000, indicating that demand for small dollar amounts remained high.

• 30% were able to get their funding in full, whereas 13% were partially funded, and 38% had their request denied.

There also needs to be purposeful and intentional outreach for contracting opportunities. Similar to capital access, AAPIs are not in network with the available contracting opportunities. Contracting officers and organizations, such as private companies and those that support business certification, should be equipped with resources to help them better understand the needs of AAPI businesses, and contracting opportunities must be more widely promoted to the AAPI business community.

• 72% of AAPI business owners lack relationships with contracting officers or organizations, which are crucial to successfully winning contract awards.

• 35% of AAPI business owners said that contracts available through Investing in America contracting opportunities (i.e., through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS & Science Act, or Inflation Reduction Act) were too large for them to bid on or compete for credibly.

• Less than half of AAPI business owners are aware of contracting opportunities for their business through the Invest in America initiative (38% are aware of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law contracts, 37% are aware of CHIPS & Science Act contracts, and 44% are aware of Inflation Reduction Act contracts).

Our 2023 surveys built upon the findings of our 2022 surveys: AAPI business owners continue to miss out on capital opportunities because they are unaware of them, or because they do not believe their business would qualify for capital. Our 2023 survey asked AAPI entrepreneurs about contracting for the first time, and the findings suggest most AAPI businesses lack awareness of contracting opportunities for their businesses despite the vast opportunities made available through the Invest in America Initiative.

The capital needs of many AAPIs could be met by Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) or Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs):

44%

AAPI business owners lack awareness of CDFIs.

48%

AAPI business owners lack awareness of MDIs.

There are high levels of trust in community banks (85%) and in large banks (60%).21 There are clearly opportunities to expand and build on these trusted relationships.

Collection of Meaningful Data

The AAPI community encompasses an incredibly diverse array of backgrounds. Collectively, over 25 million people compose the AAPI diaspora-–consisting of hundreds of ethnicities, languages, and cultures.22 Without quality data, many of the disparities and challenges facing the AAPI community go unaddressed and unacknowledged. Data equity is crucial for resource distribution and ultimately for improving health equity, economic equity, and digital equity.

There are opportunities to collect quality, timely, and disaggregated data through public and private programs to close the data gap on the AAPI business community. While progress may be slow, there have been improvements in public and private sector data collection efforts. In 2022, the U.S. Treasury announced new rules under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) that require participating jurisdictions to report demographic information collected from small businesses that receive capital through the SSBCI program, including data on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity.25 As of June 2023, the Treasury has approved applications for capital programs representing $8.2 billion in potential funding. About half of this funding will go toward credit support programs that help small businesses access financing opportunities.26

In March 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule required by Congress to increase transparency in small business lending, promote economic development, and combat unlawful discrimination. Lenders will be required to collect and report information about the small business credit applications they receive, including geographic and demographic data, lending decisions, and the price of credit. The increased transparency will create valuable visibility for AAPI small business lending and highlight the unique trends and patterns in the AAPI community.27

National ACE conducts surveys to help close the data gap. Over the last three years, National ACE has fielded several statewide (California, Texas) and national surveys of the AAPI small business community to better understand their needs, what gaps exist and, most importantly, what could be done to better support the community. We surveyed thousands of AAPI businesses on topics ranging from access to capital, contracting and procurement, trust in financial institutions, and the overall state of AAPI business:

• Fall 2023: Investing in America Policies Create New Opportunities for America’s Private Sector*

• Spring 2023: Trust and Access to Capital*

• Spring 2022: Overall Regional and National Survey Findings

• Spring 2022: State of AAPI Business: Overall Findings in California and Texas

• Spring 2022: Trust & Access to Capital

* This survey was conducted by National ACE in partnership with Reimagine Main Street (Public Private Strategies)

AAPIs are the most economically divided population in the country, with those in the top 10% of income distribution making as much as 10.7 times more than those in the bottom 10%.23 Stereotypes about the AAPI community dilute the unique and nuanced experiences of AAPIs. For every dollar the average white man makes, the average Indian woman makes $1.21 and the average Taiwanese woman makes $1.16, while the average Samoan woman makes 60¢ and the average Bhutanese woman makes 50¢.24

Digital Equity

Shauna & Cornelius Tuilaepa, owners of No Ke Aloha in Aurora, Colorado, were recipients of the 2023 AAPISTRONG Restaurant Fund. They offer a large variety of Pacific Islander favorites while also growing their workforce and providing jobs to more folks in their community.

In the modern economy, access to capital and technology are intertwined. From broadband connectivity and quality to e-commerce and digital literacy, AAPI small businesses must be fully integrated into the digital economy in order to remain competitive and able to access the capital and resources necessary to start, maintain, and grow their businesses. The CHIPS & Science Act represents a large investment in our country’s tech industry, manufacturing, innovation, and STEM workforce. It is essential that AAPI entrepreneurs be aware of the opportunities provided by this legislation in order to take advantage of its contracting opportunities, be fluent in the tech landscape, and understand how to stay competitive in an increasingly digital world.

There must be efforts to secure broadband access and infrastructure for underserved AAPI communities. A stable and reliable broadband connection is the foundation for digital equity. Though the majority of AAPI small businesses are digitally connected, segments of the AAPI population throughout the country still live in buildings and infrastructure in which broadband is unavailable. In survey data collected through National ACE’s grant fund, nearly 30% of grant applicants indicated that the lack of a digital presence was the biggest barrier to growing their business. Over 9% indicated that the lack of high-quality, affordable broadband was the biggest barrier to growing their business.

Digital equity is connected to income. 44% of households with an income of less than $30,000 do not have access to broadband.28 Subpopulations of AAPIs, such as Bhutanese and Mongolian, live in poverty at higher rates than both the general U.S. and AAPI populations, and are less likely to be digitally connected.29, 30 Even across urban landscapes in Los Angeles and New York City, AAPI communities such as the Korean community or the Bangladeshi community suffer from high rates of poverty, often living in old and dilapidated structures that are overlooked and excluded from digital access and initiatives.

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program provides $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning and infrastructure deployment and adoption programs in all 50 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.31 States and territories are currently taking public comments to gather input into key elements of their five-year action plans and initial proposals.32

Broadband must be affordable and accessible for AAPIs to fully realize the benefits of federal and private broadband expansion efforts. A major component of closing the digital divide is addressing both access and affordability of access to the internet. After all, broadband towers do not do much good if people cannot afford to pay for the services they provide. National ACE applauds initiatives such as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which was developed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.33 Providers such as Verizon, Comcast, AT&T, and T-Mobile have partnered with the federal government to roll out the program.34, 35, 36, 37

National ACE partnered with OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates on a digital access survey led by OCA.38 The key findings included:

• Only 53.5% of AAPI respondents are digitally well connected, which refers to owning more than 2 digital devices as well as having both fixed-residential and cellular internet connections at home.

• 76.7% of respondents have broadband internet at home. We included in the definition of broadband the following: fiber, cable, DSL, fixed wireless, and satellite services.

• Southeast Asian respondents are twice as likely as East Asian respondents to have no internet at home. While 1.4% of East Asian respondents mentioned that they don’t have internet at home, 3% of Southeast Asian respondents said that they don’t have internet at home. Similarly, 13.7% of East Asian respondents told us that they only have an internet connection at home through their mobile devices. However, the same response came from 21.3% of Southeast Asian participants.

• Having no English proficiency can be a huge barrier to digital access. 5.4% of respondents with no English proficiency said they don’t have internet at home. That percentage shrinks to 1.1% for those who have a native/bilingual level of English proficiency. In addition, 4.1% of respondents with no English proficiency told us they own no digital devices.

• Telehealth use drastically increases with age. 1 out of 4 respondents in the 45-54 age range said that they use telehealth. That increases to 1 out of 3 in the next age range, 55-64. Moreover, half of the respondents of age 65 and over said they are using telehealth with the digital devices they own.

• Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders, South Asians, Southeast Asians, and other ethnicities are more likely to own two devices. East Asians are most likely to own three digital devices.

Getting broadband deployed to unserved and underserved areas will require both public and private investment. This historic investment in the country’s infrastructure creates new opportunities for businesses to grow, explore new areas, and thrive. This is particularly important in the context of the pandemic, which created more challenges than ever for small, minority, and diverse-owned businesses. It will also be important for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency that oversees the development of broadband across the country, to consider the benefits of diverse suppliers and vendors who build and maintain networks as part of its digital redlining initiative. This will be key for ensuring that broadband infrastructure is deployed into communities that have the most need.

Health Equity

AAPISTRONG Annual Conference Small Business Expo: Chykalophia, founded by husband-and-wife duo Peter and Ari Krzyzek, is a woman minority-owned web agency helping Farmtech DTC and B2B women-brands transform their websites into platforms that drive business growth.

Access to affordable healthcare options is a top priority for AAPI entrepreneurs and their communities. 88% of Asian Americans reported that healthcare is an ‘extremely’ or ‘very important’ issue when deciding how to vote in the 2022 midterm elections.39 About 43% of Asian Americans said they worry about not having Medicare to cover their healthcare costs in retirement. AAPI women who immigrated to the United States less than five years ago also face significantly higher rates of being uninsured, compared to their non-Hispanic, white counterparts.40

There must be concerted efforts to expand the collection and availability of adequate and disaggregated data on the health concerns affecting AAPI communities. One of the biggest barriers to health equity for AAPIs is the lack of sufficient data. Since AAPIs are not visible in aggregated data, most of their serious health concerns continue to be blind spots. Health disparities within the AAPI community reflect the drastic income disparities in the community, as health is directly connected to income level. Health research on AAPIs can also be more costly, time-consuming, and limited in scope due to issues around language access, sample size, and mistrust. As such, there must be an intentional and coordinated effort on the part of public, private, and community actors to guarantee that the data collected is reliable and representative. The research must be conducted in a language-accessible and diversityoriented manner to ensure that the most invisible and vulnerable within the AAPI community are represented.

Affordable, accessible, and culturally-relevant healthcare is essential to health equity for AAPIs. AAPIs have consistently faced barriers to care due to language and cultural challenges, in addition to affordability issues. As the workforce and the economy undergo fluctuations, it is crucial that access to healthcare for AAPIs be prioritized. The uninsured rate across the AAPI population hovers around 6%. However, when disaggregated, the uninsured rates are concerning. The uninsured rate for Mongolian Americans is 28%, 24% for Marshallese, and 14% for Bhutanese Americans. Asian adults (35%) were more likely than White adults (29%) to say they went without a routine checkup in the past year. Some of the biggest disparities for AAPIs when accessing quality healthcare exist in regard to access for non-English speakers, timely initiation of care, and respectful and gentle home healthcare from providers in the last two months of care. When accessing healthcare, AAPIs must have affordable, quality, and culturally-sensitive options so that they can be properly diagnosed and treated with dignity.

It took nearly a decade of activism by AAPI physicians before the body mass index threshold for diabetes screening was lowered for AAPIs, who can get the disease at younger ages, and with far less body fat, than other groups.41 42

0.17%

of the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was spent on research focused on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, or Pacific Islanders, despite AAPIs being the country’s fastest-growing ethnic group between 1992 and 2018.43, 44

Capitol Hill Day: National ACE President & CEO Chiling Tong and partner organization leaders from across the country sit with U.S. Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen to advocate for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Congress.

The unique needs and circumstances of AAPIs should be taken into account when creating mental health care and resources. We are in the midst of an unprecedented mental health crisis in this country. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Asian Americans from ages 15 to 24.48 AAPIs are three times less likely to access mental health services than their white counterparts, with 73.1% of AAPI adults suffering from mental illness not receiving treatment.49, 50 Gaps in mental health care are the result of several factors, such as the stigma associated with mental illness, lack of awareness about mental illness, and lack of culturally-sensitive or language-accessible resources. When left unaddressed, mental health issues have farreaching consequences throughout one’s professional and personal life. Expanding mental health workforce and capacity has been a policy priority in Congress and the White House, which includes breaking down financial and cultural barriers to care and fostering supportive environments for recovery and wellbeing. The unique needs of AAPIs must be part of this national strategy to ensure effective outreach and impact for AAPIs.

Gaps in healthcare quality and accessibility reflect disparities in socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic background, education level, and occupation, among other factors. Due to such causes as underlying genetic factors and lack of healthcare, AAPIs find themselves more vulnerable to certain health risks, such as different forms of cancer and respiratory conditions. Increasing access to affordable healthcare options, collecting disaggregated data on health, and providing culturally-relevant mental health resources will improve the health, quality of life, and life expectancy of AAPI entrepreneurs and their families.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been and will continue to be transformative for AAPI businesses. AI can help entrepreneurs unlock new opportunities, save time, reduce errors, and increase efficiency by enabling them to access new markets and capital and by streamlining tasks such as invoicing, financial management, inventory management, scheduling, communications, social media, and marketing. With the time and opportunities it provides for entrepreneurs, there is great potential for scaling and advancement through AI. Coupled with entrepreneurial approaches like opensource programming, AI has the ability to enable AAPI business owners to develop innovative products, create value, and address challenges from their unique perspective. However, as AI becomes more embedded in our daily lives and business, it is vital to balance innovation with education, equity, and protection.

Small Business AI Utilization

26%

Of small businesses say they are already investing in AI.51

44%

More say they want to start using AI soon.52

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights” in October 2022. This Blueprint presents five guiding principles for incorporating protection into AI policy and practice. These principles are: safe and effective systems; algorithmic discrimination protections; data privacy; notice and explanation; and human alternatives, consideration, and feedback.53

President Biden signed an Executive Order on “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence” in October 2023. This Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, and advances American leadership in AI around the world. It calls for the most sweeping actions ever taken by any government in relation to AI.54

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer launched a series of AI forums earlier in September 2023 centered on the intersections of AI and important topics like innovation, immigration, workforce, privacy, social impact, and transparency. The forums are focused on how stakeholders can work together to ensure the safe and equitable adoption of AI and have brought together leaders from government, academia and civil rights, business, and labor communities.55, 56

We must ensure that AAPI entrepreneurs are not left behind in this paradigm shift due to a lack of AI literacy. AI has the potential to free up the most valuable resource for small business owners: time. With the extra time made available through the use of AI for repetitive or administrative tasks, entrepreneurs can focus on the more creative parts of their business. They can use that time for future business planning and improving their products. 91% of small businesses who are using AI indicated that it has made their business more successful, and 28% of the respondents who use AI indicated that they expect it to save them at least $5,000 over the next 12 months.57 In the current public discussions, the concern about negative consequences of AI sometimes overpowers the sense of its benefits. AAPI entrepreneurs must be properly educated on how to harness the power of AI for their success, so as not to be left behind in leveraging AI as an opportunity for business growth.

It must also be a priority to mitigate algorithmic bias in AI computing systems by keeping diversity and equity in mind at every step of technology design and distribution. Historically, AI computing systems have displayed algorithmic bias, as a result of either discriminatory scripting at various stages of the technology development or a lack of diversity in the product testing or design. As AI will grow to play a significant role in essential services, such as healthcare, housing, and hiring, it will be more crucial than ever to mitigate the risks presented by racial bias so that the AAPI community does not suffer from additional barriers. Although bias is often an unintended consequence, we must ensure that, as AI systems proliferate, there is a concerted and focused effort to keep diversity and equity in mind at every stage of development and deployment so that AI does not reinforce racial or other types of cultural biases.

Lastly, it is vital to balance innovative technologies with privacy and data protection. Data security is a primary obstacle to AI integration. One of the benefits of AI—its ability to quickly gather and analyze large datasets—also presents the privacy issue of data exploitation. Due to this access, AI can identify and track individuals across multiple systems and also make them more vulnerable to cyberattacks.58 There are research efforts underway to develop privacy enhancing and cybersecurity technologies relevant to AI. As AAPI communities can be skeptical of new or unfamiliar technologies to begin with, these privacy issues present a major psychological and safety barrier to AI integration for AAPIs. For AI to be truly beneficial and transformative for all communities, the public and private sectors must collaborate to develop security systems and safeguards to protect privacy and data so that users can have confidence.

AI has the potential to revolutionize business and help us tackle daunting problems facing society. However, innovation and competition in regard to AI must be balanced with education, equity, and protection. We commend the actions taken by the public and private sectors to harness the power of AI while still being proactive about the many ways it can disrupt several industries, including manufacturing, retail, and logistics. We encourage conversation and collaboration between government, industry, and community organizations to ensure AI reaches its full potential in advancing equity and opportunity.

Supplier Diversity

Misa Chien, Anna Wong, Kevin Zhang, and Le Zhang serve as panelists discussing “The Future of Technology and Our Workforce: AI and Automation” at the AAPISTRONG Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

Supplier diversity is a business strategy that ensures a diverse supplier base in the procurement of goods and services. A ‘diverse supplier’ is a supplier that is majority owned and operated (51% or more) by an individual who is a member of a group that is traditionally underrepresented or underserved.59 Common classifications include minorityowned enterprises (MBEs) or women-owned business enterprises (WBEs). The history of supplier diversity is firmly rooted in the American Civil Rights movement, and has evolved into a mainstream practice for many of the country’s largest corporations and the federal government.

It is more important now than ever before for the private sector to maintain commitments to and be intentional about supplier inclusion. Given recent legal challenges to supplier diversity and procurement programs across public and private sectors, there is a spotlight on supplier diversity and inclusion efforts. Despite current scrutiny, supplier inclusion is essential both to bolster competitive advantage and to mitigate supply chain disruptions by creating a system of diverse suppliers.60 61 Supplier diversity can help ease pressure on companies when global supply chains are squeezed. It can make a company’s supply chain more agile, too. In terms of attracting and retaining top talent, younger generations say that they are unlikely to work for companies that do not prioritize diversity and inclusion in both values and practices.62 Despite challenges to these efforts, the private sector should continue prioritizing diversifying their supply chains.

In addition to attracting diverse suppliers, companies should make sure that contracts are realistic and attainable for small- and medium-sized businesses. Many small businesses aspire to become a vendor for a merchant. When done with sensitivity, supplier inclusion can be transformative in helping an entrepreneur take their business to the next level in terms of profit and scale. Unfortunately, however, these contracts often place an undue burden on entrepreneurs if they are unable to meet the required quantities, deadlines, and other demands. In the worst-case scenario, some businesses are not able to survive these pressures. The capacity of small- and medium-sized firms should be taken into account in the contracting process so they are set up to succeed, not to fail.

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, National Minority Supplier Development Council President & CEO Ying McGuire, and National ACE President & CEO Chiling Tong discuss the importance of access to contracting for diverse businesses at the 2023 AANHPI Heritage Month Business Summit.

National ACE’s 2023 AANHPI Heritage Month Business Summit, hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, focused on the supplier and contracting opportunities opened up by the CHIPS & Science Act.

At a historic time of government investment in infrastructure development, diverse businesses must be intentionally included in contracting opportunities. The Investing In America Agenda, which encompasses the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), represent massive public investments in infrastructure, clean tech, and manufacturing. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for diverse small businesses to play key roles. Based on our recent survey of AAPI business owners, only 21% compete in “Invest in America Sectors,” and not nearly enough AAPIs are aware of the opportunities available to them. For example, only 38% of AAPIs were ‘somewhat aware’ of contracting opportunities through the BIL, 37% were ‘somewhat aware’ of CHIPS opportunities, and 44% were ‘somewhat aware’ of Inflation Reduction Act opportunities. For each law, AAPI business owners were ‘somewhat aware’ of the bills, but did not know there were opportunities for their businesses. Over 70% of AAPIs said that there must be more intentional efforts to reach AAPI business owners with information about such opportunities, and to cultivate diverse suppliers.

Lack of awareness of such opportunities is consistent with our previous surveys of the AAPI business community. AAPIs miss out on important funding opportunities because they are not aware of contracting opportunities or because they do not think their businesses would qualify. To effectively reach the AAPI community, information about such resources and guidance about taking advantage of them must be made culturally relevant and accessible so AAPIs feel confident to pursue contracts.

Representation & Racial Equity

Many barriers facing AAPI small business owners remain unaddressed due to the lack of appropriate representation and leadership opportunities in public and private sectors. In 2023, 44% of Americans are unable to name a prominent Asian American.63 At the same time, AAPIs struggle to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance in the US. This is especially true for younger generation AAPIs and AAPI women.64

Strong representation remains a challenge. It is vital to ensure that representation is meaningful, at all levels, and as diverse as the AAPI community. Inequity can be most adequately addressed by those intimately aware of these experiences. It’s worth noting that the majority of AAPIs that were elevated to executive leadership positions received their promotions after their companies suffered financial challenges, potentially setting them up for failure.65 As of 2022, 39 Asian Americans are leading Fortune 500 companies. 18 of the 39 AAPIs are of South Asian background.66 In government, 27 newly elected AAPI state legislators served in the 2022 legislative session, bringing the total number of AAPI state legislators to 103.67

The stereotypes that exclude AAPIs from leadership, such as that they are “docile, complacent, and overly deferential,” must be dismantled.68 Accurate representation is an essential investment in reframing what AAPI youth deem possible for themselves. It also allows those from AAPI communities to directly design policy and practices that have long term equity at their core, and that thus may be more effective.

One way to address racial disparities and representation challenges for AAPI communities is to expand how AAPI history is taught. When the general population understands the rich culture, contributions, and significant impact of members of the AAPI community, not only do AAPIs feel as if they belong and are represented, but non-AAPI students gain an understanding of the AAPI community, likely for the first time.

Similar to how we must tackle AAPI invisibility through accurate and diverse representation at the top levels of media, government, and corporate America, this invisibility also needs to be addressed in education. Many states have implemented laws to include AAPI history in K-12 education, and others are doing the same.69

Advancing Racial Equity for the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs: ACE NextGen

National ACE has always recognized the importance of supporting the entrepreneurship of Millennial and Gen-Z AAPIs through the ACE NextGen Program. Millennial and Gen-Z AAPIs are some of the most likely to start their own businesses. According to a Nielsen study, for example, about 54% of Gen-Z AAPIs indicated they wanted to start their own company.70 Younger AAPI entrepreneurs are technologically-inclined, prioritize social consciousness, and tend to be more flexible. National ACE prioritizes investments in future generations of AAPI entrepreneurs, who will continue to contribute significantly to the U.S. both economically and socially.

Sustainability

Lavanya Jawaharlal, Co-Founder of STEM Center USA and ACE NextGen Advisor, recognizes the next generation of AANHPI business and community leaders at the AAPISTRONG Annual Conference.

As the country and world look toward building a resilient and sustainable future for all, this must be a just transition with inclusion, accessibility, and affordability in mind. Sustainability has widespread implications with regard to energy sources, trade and investment, food security, agricultural biotechnology, infrastructure, transportation, and digitalization.71 These shifts stand to widely benefit AAPI entrepreneurs through infrastructure modernization, contracting opportunities, and the mitigation of climate disasters. Work done toward sustainable solutions should be inclusive and take into account the unique needs of vulnerable AAPI communities across the country.

There must be adequate infrastructure in place to withstand extreme weather. AAPIs are often amongst the most vulnerable to extreme weather changes and the increase in natural disasters. This year, the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century devastated Maui.72 The first-ever tropical storm watch was issued for southern California, while the state and parts of the Southwest experienced intense rainfall and flooding. Texas saw the second hottest August on record.73 Such intense weather events have become more frequent, increasing the urgency to improve infrastructure to withstand extreme weather. 69% of Asian Americans agreed that Congress and the President should pass stronger legislation to anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change.74 Neighborhoods with higher proportions of Chinese, Korean, and South Asian residences have a “significantly greater cancer risk burden relative to Whites” due to hazardous air pollutants.75 In the two years since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) was passed, billions of dollars have gone toward clean water infrastructure, electric vehicle (EV) fleets, highways, railways, waste management, and recycling.76 These investments are crucial for improving the infrastructure and safety of AAPI communities across the country as natural disasters and extreme weather increase.

It is vital to diversify energy sources and turn to sustainable and resilient energy practices. Hawai‘i, for example, experienced some of the highest gas prices in the country in 2021 and 2022 and has struggled to meet its energy needs, due to its relative isolation as an island.77 Sustainable solutions have become urgent and will make AAPI small business owners less vulnerable to fluctuations in gas supply and prices. They will foster energy efficiency, job creation, contracting opportunities, and U.S. economic competitiveness—all of which stand to benefit AAPI entrepreneurs in the long term. In 2022, we saw historic investments in clean energy infrastructure, EV and EV charging stations, emissions reduction, and clean energy affordability through the BIL.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides certain incentives for equitable and sustainable business practices. The incentives include but are not limited to:

• Credits for manufacturing plants that are working in low income communities to bring green jobs into disadvantaged communities.78

• Potential tax rebates for automakers who allocate a certain percentage of domestic production toward manufacturing EV batteries and car parts.79

• Federal funding creates grant opportunities for small businesses to do research on and implement clean energy solutions.

Lena Chao, Founder of Clean Circle, pitches her sustainable beauty products at National ACE’s Annual Minority Women Lead pitch competition in Long Beach, CA.

Workforce Development

There have been unprecedented challenges and developments with regard to the workforce. AAPI small business owners, especially those with brick and mortar storefronts, have struggled to find workers for various reasons. For example, they report that, with the rise of remote work options, in-person positions are no longer as attractive or competitive for workers. Furthermore, small businesses are often unable to provide the same employee benefits and flexibility as large corporations.

To foster ‘good jobs’, the job creators must be empowered. Improving the quality of jobs is good for everyone. Being your own boss and having ownership of and flexibility in one’s work life, is itself a major motivation for entrepreneurship. While acknowledging that good jobs are beneficial for communities as a whole, there still exists a gap between the employer’s aspiration to provide adaptable and attractive jobs and their ability to do so. Between inflation and rising living costs, small business owners have reported that they cannot compete with larger corporations to attract and retain employees. Large companies are often able to provide extensive benefits and flexibility, which are increasingly desired by workers in the post-pandemic years.

For today’s workers, important workplace values include flexibility, competitive wages, benefits, upskilling opportunities, employer commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and community giving, among others.80 One of the biggest challenges to workforce development is childcare support. The lack of affordable childcare or childcare opportunities in general prevents many parents from returning to the workforce full-time. Unfortunately, small business owners are severely limited in their ability to offer these benefits, as they are faced with tightening profit margins due to rising living costs, inflation, and competitive wages.

It is important for government, the community, and private sector stakeholders to come together to consider how emerging technologies can provide solutions to workforce development challenges. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, can offer greater opportunities, particularly around job training, upskilling, reskilling, and education. This allows employers to expand pathways to ‘good jobs’ for workers that they perhaps could not have offered before. For both employers and employees, many of the current workforce gaps, including hiring shortfalls as a result of the skills gap, could be addressed through the equitable and meaningful integration of emerging technologies.81

Entrepreneurs are crucial to the life and vitality of their local communities—they provide jobs and essential services, and play a role in the economic development and wealth building of their neighborhoods. Fostering a healthy environment for business, assisting in the securing of capital, and creating incentives for disadvantaged entrepreneurs will eventually bring returns to the community and result in better employment opportunities.

Wooly Pig in San Francisco, CA was a recipient of the 2023 AAPISTRONG Restaurant Fund. What sets Wooly Pig apart is their commitment to putting their own spin on classic flavors. They believe in embracing tradition while pushing boundaries.

According to National ACE’s internal survey conducted through the AAPISTRONG Restaurant Fund:

Of applicants reported that the biggest barrier to growing their business and operations was an inability to find workers.

Provide

Reported not being able to offer a delivery service due to not having enough employees. Less than half of the small business owners who applied for the grant provide paid time-off for their employees.

Provide retirement plans.82

National ACE has been in close conversation with lawmakers on paid leave opportunities. National ACE attended a roundtable discussion with members of the Bipartisan House Paid Leave Working Group to discuss how to formulate paid leave policy that takes the needs of small businesses into consideration. National ACE President & CEO Chiling Tong spoke to the experiences of AAPI business owners, who often juggle caregiving responsibilities with business obligations and cite complexity and lack of affordability when it comes to offering paid leave benefits.

Privacy

Alexander Kang, the owner of Okonomi Asian Grill in Fairfax, VA, was a recipient of the 2023 AAPISTRONG Restaurant Fund. He started his business after learning and working with a local nonprofit in Vietnam.

Recently, several states have passed or proposed privacy laws to protect consumer data. These laws and proposals often contain provisions allowing consumers to request, delete, or correct their data; to opt-in to the processing of consumer’s sensitive data; require businesses to provide consumers with a clear privacy notice; and impose fines for violations. Privacy and data sharing concerns are serious and should be addressed. However, these laws and proposals have shown to carry costly, time-consuming compliance burdens and take entrepreneurs away from focusing their time on their business, employees, and customers.

Privacy legislation should protect consumer privacy while balancing and considering how small businesses use emerging technologies to grow their businesses. As of August 2023, more than half of U.S. states have passed or introduced state privacy bills.89 Depending on the model of privacy protection, such legislation could diminish the ability of businesses to deploy targeted ads and remain competitive. The model of ‘opting-in’ for all uses of data creates unnecessary burdens for consumers and sellers, as well as for online platforms and marketplaces. Online platforms offer low-cost and convenient options for targeted advertising that allow entrepreneurs to reach new markets and remain competitive with larger firms, despite not having a marketing team or large-scale campaign. Targeted ads generated by sites like Google and Facebook help connect small businesses with those who seem most interested in them, as opposed to casting a wide net with advertising and exhausting resources. Targeted ads also keep platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Instagram free or low-cost to everyone, including businesses who do not use targeted ads.

Streamlined Federal versions of privacy legislation would address the patchwork landscape, reduce compliance costs, and alleviate regulatory burdens for already-overwhelmed entrepreneurs. Contradictory and duplicative state privacy laws make it difficult to conduct business and ensure compliance across state borders—which is the main way most businesses operate in today’s digital world of e-commerce. Entrepreneurs have to learn to navigate the unique regulations of each state in which they want to conduct business. It is confusing, difficult, and expensive enough to maneuver such regulations in one state, much less decipher the requirements of multiple states. Patchwork legislation not only squashes business potential, it also severely increases compliance costs and taxpayer burdens for the entire e-commerce landscape.

What Does it Cost?

Compliance with California’s privacy law will cost $78 billion annually: the state economy will bear $46 billion and the U.S. economy will bear the remaining $32 billion. California small businesses will bear $9 billion of in-state costs. Out-of-state small businesses face $6 billion in costs.86 Initial costs of compliance are $50,000 for small businesses with fewer than 20 employees and $100,000 for businesses with up to 50 employees.87 State privacy laws could, in total, impose out-of-state costs of $98 billion to $112 billion annually, exceeding $1 trillion over a ten-year period. U.S. small businesses would bear a total of $20 billion to $23 billion in compliance costs annually.88

73%

73% of business owners say that, without online advertising, they wouldn’t be able to market themselves or grow their businesses effectively.83

86%

Around 86% of startups rely on targeted advertising to stay afloat.84

58%

58% of business owners fear that stricter regulations on tech companies would result in higher advertising costs for their businesses and less accessibility to their customer base.85

There is an urgency to protect consumer data and privacy. However, it is important to ensure that such protections do not come at the expense of small and disadvantaged business owners. Targeted ads have the potential to make marketing and outreach accessible for entrepreneurs short on time, resources, and capital. Additionally, patchwork state privacy laws present a significant and costly challenge in regard to compliance and interstate commerce. The benefits and drawbacks of any specific privacy legislation for AAPI small business owners must be considered by legislators when formulating consumer privacy protections.

International Commerce

The significance of international commerce for AAPI entrepreneurs was first highlighted during the global supply disruptions resulting from the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Supply chains have since stabilized, and domestic and foreign markets have become increasingly intertwined. The Indo-Pacific region is not only one of the most viable locations for manufacturing and trade, it is also a large and fast-growing market. Countries in the Pacific Rim are essential to American supply chains and AAPI entrepreneurs. For the nearly 3 million AAPI small business owners in the United States, having sustainable partnerships with Pacific bordering states is vital to their personal and economic security. AAPI diaspora businesses rely on their origin countries for inspiration, supplies, and contacts even into the third or fourth generations living in the United States. With new opportunities for supplies, inputs, and markets globally, entrepreneurs increasingly work internationally to achieve business advantages.

In 2021, there was no government structure in place to deal with global supply chain disruptions. Since then, the U.S. Department of Commerce has been working on the Indo Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with partners across the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen US relations with allies in the Indo-Pacific and to better position the region for modern economic challenges, including supply chain disruptions.90

U.S. foreign direct investment in the Indo-Pacific region totaled more than $969 billion in 2020 and has nearly doubled in the past decade. Trade with the Indo-Pacific region supports more than three million American jobs and is the source of nearly $900 billion in foreign direct investment into the United States.91

To minimize disruptions in today’s truly global marketplace, there must be safeguards in place to protect AAPI small business owners in the face of economic or political uncertainty. The vulnerability of diverse entrepreneurs was exposed at the height of the pandemic, when many could not survive the supply chain disruptions and backlogs. In addition to supply chains, other points of vulnerability for AAPI small business owners include price fluctuations in energy resources, legal requirements for commerce, and tariffs and taxes.92 At a time when business interdependence is at an all time peak, international commerce must be secured and protected to be functional even in the context of volatile global political affairs.

There must be adequate and efficient communication between the private and public sectors so businesses can stay on top of trends in international commerce and respond proactively. Often, the private sector is aware of emerging trends and potential challenges in the global marketplace before the public sector. In fact, prior to IPEF, supply chain control was the purview of the private sector. As the need for some version of intergovernmental coordination became necessary for international stability, the private sector offers invaluable insight into and knowledge of global supply chains that could help small business owners conduct operations in a manner aligned with global trends.

With international commerce, there is great potential for profit and economic development. There are significant opportunities for American entrepreneurs to conduct business internationally, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, as many of these countries are looking for capital and resources to develop their infrastructures. Fostering a stable and global marketplace will generate wealth domestically and globally, which stands to benefit AAPI entrepreneurs and small business owners across the country.

Minority Business

Agency’s First Annual Diverse Business Forum on Capital Formation: National ACE President & CEO Chiling Tong with (left to right): Imani Augustus (Director of Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity), John D. Smith (Chairman & CEO of Icon Parking Holdings, LLC), Ramiro Cavazos (President & CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce), Don Cravins (former Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development), Ron Busby (President & CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.), and Della Clark (President of The Enterprise Center).

The

Development

National ACE Board of Directors

Jason Chan

Director, External & Public Affairs, Strategic Alliances; Chief of Staff to President, State External & Legislative Affairs

AT&T

Angela Chang

Chief Strategy Officer KCAL Insurance Agency

Susan Jin Davis

Social Impact Officer Al Roker Entertainment

Dr. Karen Eng, O.D.

Chair, National ACE Foundation President & CEO, CSMI

Fa’avae Fa’avae

Founder & Owner

F2 Manufacturing and Island Avenue

Jimmy Ferguson

President, Maxtab, Inc. Owner/Operator

McDonald’s

Asian McDonald’s Operators Association (AMOA)

Pat Fong Kushida

President & CEO California Asian Chamber of Commerce

Garrett Gin

Senior Vice President Global Marketing & Corporate Affairs Bank of America

Karen Ideno

Group Vice President Indirect Procurement and Environmental, Social & Governance

Investing Toyota Financial Services

Bill Imada

Chairman & Chief Connectivity Officer IW Group

Joon I. Kim

Associate Vice President, External Affairs

Comcast

Chris Law

National Vice President, Asian Initiatives UnitedHealthcare

Roberto Llames President & CEO Enterprise Solutions

Grace Lee

President & CEO Ashford Connex, LLC

Sandeep Nain President SNtial Technologies

Amar Shokeen

Chief Executive Officer Apolis

Thear Suzuki

Chair, National ACE Global Client Service Partner EY

Helene Yan

Chief Client Officer, Health Interpublic Group

Vivian Young

Global Head of Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs

JPMorgan Chase & Co

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