Houston symposium brings lenders, city agencies and contractors together to expand capital access for minority-, women- and veteran-owned firms

Council member Willie Davis convened an inaugural “Banking on Your Business” symposium in Houston to connect lenders, city agencies, prime contractors and community organizations around one goal: expanding access to capital and contracting opportunities for small, minority-, women- and veteran-owned firms.

The event brought together the mayor, agency directors, commercial and community banks, nontraditional lenders and faith-based nonprofits for a series of panels and “fireside chats” that combined practical advice, program announcements and personal testimony. "I am overwhelmingly pleased because this is something that I have dreamed and vision for so long," Council member Willie Davis said in opening remarks, citing a decades-long commitment to improve access to city contracts and financing.

Why it matters: speakers framed capital access as a bottleneck that prevents business survival and growth. In a keynote-style presentation, the Office of Business Opportunity’s presenter said many startups fail because they lack capital, and urged entrepreneurs to build banking relationships and financial records…