Original Article via Phoenix Business Journal
When Phoenix economist Jim Rounds was hired to dig deeper into the economic impact of women- and minority-owned businesses, he was surprised to see how big their impact really is.
For the past six years, the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has hosted a summit that inducts Arizona companies into the Million Dollar Circle of Excellence. These are firms that spend $1 million or more purchasing products or services from women- and minority-owned businesses.
Diversity spending with these businesses by the 30-plus companies in the Million Dollar Circle of Excellence has surpassed $500 million annually.
The chamber hired Rounds to dig deeper into that amount to determine what kind of economic impact that means for Arizona’s economy.
“The growing economic impact of minority- and women-owned businesses is undeniable,” said Gonzalo A. de la Melena, Jr., president and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Arizona has hundreds of thousands of women- and minority owned firms doing business in every segment and at every level of our economy at a time when our state’s consumers and workforce are demanding more diversity across the board.”
Rounds found the total economic output from those companies doing business with W/MOBs reached $1 billion, creating 9,226 jobs and $416 million in wages and generating $34 million in state and local revenue.
