b'OPPORTUNITY LIVES HEREMINORITY FIRM OWNERSHIP AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT Business Ownership by Minority Groups, by Sector*Shifts in the economy have brought self-employment back into theNew Castle County (2022)spotlight as a pathway to economic opportunity and prosperity. MinorityProfessionalCommodity and Women Owned Business Enterprises are providing diverse options,Construction Services Goods andTotalinnovative products and services and represented in every industryServicessector in the United States. However, minority business owners continueMinority-owned 6% 10% 20% 15%to face a disproportionate number of challenges, namely a lack of access to capital, and these obstacles have only been exacerbated by theBlack-owned 1% 3% 5% 3%Covid-19 pandemic. Hispanic-owned 4% 1% 2% 2%Fifteen percent of firms in New Castle County are minority-owned,Asian-owned 1% 7% 13% 10%comparable to 14 percent in Delaware.Black and Hispanic owned businesses are underrepresented with only three percent and twoWoman-owned 6% 18% 21% 19%percent of businesses in the County, respectively. There is a necessity to invest and support minority businesses to help lift the economic*Firms with employees in New Castle County that are owned and operated by minorities or position of the District. As older, pre-industrial work hierarchies arewomen by industry.being reshaped, policymakers should seek ways to integrate inclusiveSource: U.S. Census OnTheMap (2022)entrepreneurship into mainstream economic development strategies.Recent Success In the 2nd Senatorial DistrictNerdit Now is a brick-and-mortar and mobile tech firm that donates, repairs, recycles, and provides training on IT technology. With sustainability and environmentalism their key tenets, they repair electronic devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, gaming consoles, tablets, phones, and they upcycle and recycle items that would have wound-up in a landfill. They also take it mobile as a technology recycling operation. The firm has cultivated a business ecosystem that is closing the digital divide as they inspire the next generation of technologists and other community-driven entrepreneurs. The companys owners participated on the reality TV show, Shark Tank, seeking a $150,000 investment for 20% equity. Although none of the shows Sharks invested, the exposure lead to their securing of funding from other sources.PHOTO: INSIDER GROWTH Experiencing steady growth, Nerdit Now has become the first certified R2 recyclers of IT equipment in Delaware.Delaware Three Rivers Area Economic Development Master Plan 38'