The Priority Communities initiative held a learning summit in Los Angeles for leaders from Fresno, Salinas, Stockton, Riverside, and San Bernardino. We spoke to select leaders in attendance to hear their perspectives on their communities and their insights on what it takes to build inclusive economies. This blog post features Inland Empire-based Brian Kennedy, Jr., Entrepreneur Ecosystem Director for AmPac Business Capital.

The views and opinions expressed below are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The James Irvine Foundation. Responses were edited for length and clarity. 

Tell us about what you do and why you do it? 

I support business owners in financing and fostering their business success from cradle to legacy. And I do it because we understand that when you advance an entrepreneur’s dream, you uplift communities and strengthen the families. It’s powerful to see that kind of wealth creation and economic impact have significant value in real people’s lives.

What are your community’s greatest strengths? 

I think our community’s greatest strength is that we have opportunity. When you think about entrepreneurship, it is a great equalizer. And because we work with business owners ranging from those looking for loans as small as $5,000 to business owners purchasing their fourth and fifth commercial buildings, opportunity is everywhere. Our small business community has opportunities to do so much to solve economic development problems, small business problems, and more because they innovate and create, which is a blessing.

What does an inclusive economy look like in your community? 

An inclusive economy for us looks like tangible access without barriers to things like non-dilutive capital, free and affordable business guidance, and a network of support. It means multilingual access, ability access, and ensuring that we’re accounting for historically and institutionally undervalued populations that folks haven’t thought about in the past. Also, we need to ensure that we’re reaching populations where they are, including in terms of their small business acumen and making financial concepts more easily understood.

Finally, what about your work makes you optimistic? 

Technology is an exciting sector in my line of work. As a capital provider, coaching coordinator, community and ecosystem builder, technology is at the center, and it’s continued to play a critical role in our work. With AI, I’m excited for how technology is helping us connect more people to opportunities to make their innovative ideas come to life and to solve problems for us.

Thanks for your time!

Thank you for the opportunity.

Masthead photo credit: Ted Soqui