Women & Minority Entrepreneurs

We are a diverse country, and to not use that [diversity] is crazy." So says Joan Parrott-Fonseca, director of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).

Appointed last spring, the former associate administrator of the General Services Administration's Office of Enterprise Development has sought to make her mark-no easy task, given recent attacks on affirmative action and the MBDA itself.

"We public officials have to take some responsibility for not providing the American people with a better explanation of affirmative action," says Parrott-Fonseca, the first woman to head the MBDA. "People don't understand that assistance to minority- or women-owned businesses helps all of us. When you waste a segment of society, it's like throwing money out the window."

In addition to defending affirmative action, Parrott-Fonseca is working to make changes at the MBDA. Although the agency's future was uncertain at press time due to congressional attempts to dismantle the Commerce Department, Parrott-Fonseca continues with plans to forge partnerships with the private sector.

"[The MBDA] funds 93 technical and management assistance centers," she explains. "In the future, we'll probably be partners in funding with [private] entities."

Parrott-Fonseca is also placing greater emphasis on growing businesses, as opposed to merely concentrating on start-ups. International trade and franchising are other priorities.

"For a minority or woman entrepreneur, [success] takes even more commitment," says Parrott-Fonseca. "[Those business owners] are already working hard to overcome barriers, and we'll be fighting along with them."

This article was originally published in the January 1996 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Women & Minority Entrepreneurs.