Pete Buttigieg, Democratic Presidential Candidate, announced a new plan to drive black entrepreneurship during his interview with ESSENCE Magazine’s Tanya A. Christian.
Key Excerpts from The ESSENCE Interview:
Pete Buttigieg has a plan to encourage black entrepreneurship and he’s named it after two of the most recognized self-made business owners, Madam C.J. Walker and Reginald F. Lewis.
In a private interview with ESSENCE, the current mayor of South Bend, Indiana, compared the Walker-Lewis plan to the Marshall plan that was put into action after the end of World War II and explained that it would close the economic wealth gap. Essentially that plan would allow those who qualified for Pell Grants an opportunity to have their student loan payments forgiven if they start a business and employ three people within five years.
Buttigieg projects that the financial incentive will help triple the number of entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds in 10 years. “We can do that, and we should,” he insisted. He also called for creating a $10 billion fund to invest in businesses that are started by minorities.
“This is what freedom looks like in the 21st Century,” Buttigieg said.
Read the full ESSENCE interview here.