5Q: Maryann Mathews

FOR STARTERS

5Q: Maryann Mathews

Executive director, Multicultural Innovation Center

PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com

1What is the purpose of the Multicultural Innovation Center and what services does it offer? The Multicultural Innovation Center assists small and medium-size businesses with executing the administrative aspects of their businesses such as providing accounting, strategic planning and advocating on their behalf for loans. We also help them with navigating the process for seeking federal and state funding.

2How have services changed since the pandemic hit? What new ways has MIC tried to help reach hard-hit businesses? We have worked with small businesses, and particularly sole proprietors, as they seek resources made available by R.I. Commerce Corp. and other state and federal agencies. We have also assisted them with creating new partnerships and collaborations, which have kept their costs down and helped them create e-commerce opportunities.

3Accessing state and federal aid has been a challenge for some small businesses. How has MIC helped bridge that gap and connect its business clients to relief programs? We have met with minority-owned

Minority-owned small businesses often are in industries more susceptible to disruption.

businesses to interpret the language and terms of programs. We have also walked them through the process, including filling out the applications and compiling documentation.

4Businesses owned by people of color have long faced systemic disadvantages, some of which have been exacerbated by COVID-19. What impact do you think the pandemic will have on the state’s minority-business community, and how is MIC working to help grow the minority-business community? Of all the Rhode Island vulnerable small businesses, minority-owned ones may be most at risk. Many were in financially precarious positions even before COVID-19 lockdowns, and minority-owned small businesses often are in industries more susceptible to disruption. Our role is to ensure that Rhode Island’s Black- and brownowned businesses survive during COVID-19 by connecting them with the resources available through state agencies and private funders.

5You also offer an office and coworking space for members. What do you see as the viability/future of those kinds of spaces, given what appears to be a permanent shift to work from home for many companies? We had to adjust by having clients make an appointment to use the space. We are hopeful that with the vaccine ... we will be able to get back to some form of normalcy. n

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