Researching Municipal Policies Affecting Women and Minority Business Owners

Citi Ventures is the innovation and venture capital team of Citigroup, a multinational investment banking and financial services corporation. Their clients include small business owners and entrepreneurs across the US, particularly women and minorities, who operate in a complex and often challenging policy environment. Citi Ventures seeks to deepen its understanding of this environment to better address inequitable funding gaps in the market, with the ultimate goal of developing innovative financial products and services for these clients. Citi Ventures engaged a Capstone team to research municipal policies on women and minority business ownership and entrepreneurship, including interview and survey research in Columbus, OH; Miami, FL; Minneapolis, MN; New York, NY; and Washington, DC. The team produced a report and presentation helping Citi Ventures understand the policy framework surrounding urban small business owners and entrepreneurs and identify opportunities to provide new financial solutions to meet these clients’ needs.