Creating equal opportunity for minority contractors

Robert G. Desperini has been in the construction business long enough to know that it can be unfair, particularly to minority contractors. Often, getting a contract depends on who you know.
So Desperini, president of Desperini Contracting Group Inc. in Woonsocket (www.DesperiniContractingGroup.net), has been working to level the playing field somewhat, by organizing a local chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors.
In less than a year, about 40 contractors have banded together to share information on how to better market their businesses, among other things.
“A lot of these guys aren’t getting the same opportunities – a lot of the time, it’s who you know in this business,” said Desperini, who has been president of the association’s New England chapter since its launch this fall. “And this is a way for these individuals to get their foot [in the door] and show that they have the skills.”
Desperini’s group is one of the latest started to help minorities expressly in business matters, whether it be navigating the intricacies of starting a new business, or just offering professional development and networking opportunities.
Getting an exact count of the minority business associations operating in Rhode Island is difficult, say officials from agencies such as the R.I. Small Business Development Center that work with minority entrepreneurs. Some start with great excitement only to fade, while others lie dormant until jump-started. But their numbers, memberships and clout have increased in recent years, along with the minority population.
One of the most recent additions is the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting.
The national organization launched a Rhode Island chapter with much fanfare in April and quickly signed up about 40 members on its first day. Since then, the group has elected a board of directors and a president.
Not all the minority business groups have national affiliations like the contractor and accounting associations.
Adriana Dawson, regional director at the Small Business Development Center, notes that a “grassroots” organization called the Northern Rhode Island Merchants Association has taken shape in the last few months.
The group – based in Central Falls, where the two main thoroughfares are lined with Hispanic-owned businesses – was founded by Alfonso Acevedo, publisher of the Latino newspaper America News.
Many of these type of groups started to appear in Rhode Island about a decade ago, Dawson said – organizations designed to cater to “pockets of the minority community” that were otherwise unrepresented in other business organizations.
That’s when many minority business owners “realized ‘I guess I’m not the only one,’” Dawson said.
A priority of these associations is playing a mentor role. Business leaders have said that many minority entrepreneurs lack of network of mentors who can provide guidance.
Local groups now include the Rhode Island Professional Latinos Association, the Rhode Island Affirmative Action Professionals, the Black Contractors Association of Rhode Island and the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce Rhode Island.
Then there are professional groups inside larger companies, such as those for blacks at Bank of America in Rhode Island and at food services corporation Sodexo.
It’s no wonder that many of these groups are gaining clout.
According to U.S. Census estimates released last month, minorities made up almost 21 percent (218,956) of Rhode Island’s population of 1.05 million as of July 2007, an increase of 1.5 percent over the year before.
And the number of Latino-owned businesses grew 56 percent from 1997 to 2002, to 3,415 statewide with about $200 million in annual sales, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
The Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce Rhode Island came into being in 2000 in part because the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce “didn’t speak Spanish,” said Juana Horton, founder and chairwoman of the Hispanic American Chamber.
At the time, there were no other business associations in the state able to “concisely address the need of a minority-business owner,” added Horton, who also operates Horton Interpreting Services.
Now, the Hispanic American Chamber has a partnership with the Greater Providence Chamber. And the volunteer group has about 125 members and provides information such as financing, accounting and writing business plans.
The Hispanic American Chamber also has partnerships with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the quasi-public Small Business Development Center and the nonprofit Center for Women & Enterprise.
Horton doesn’t see a time when maturing Latino-owned businesses will move to more mainstream organizations and leave her Chamber. “If anything I see future growth,” she said.
Desperini has high hopes for his relatively new group, the New England chapter of the contractor’s association. About half of his membership – a mix of blacks, Latinos and Asians – is located in Rhode Island, but the association is stepping up recruiting in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
“There is definitely a need for this; I wouldn’t be doing this if there wasn’t,” Desperini said.
Desperini foresees a time when the membership is large enough to leverage discounts for things such as workman’s comp insurance, as the Rhode Island Builders Association does already.
While offerings like technical assistance with training, business development and certifications are on the association’s agenda, Desperini said his group plans on doing more on the legislative front, particularly where it comes to awarding state contracts to minority-owned businesses.
The state has a mandate that it should attempt to award at least 10 percent of its purchasing and construction contract to women- and minority-owned businesses, but figures from the R.I. Minority Business Enterprise Compliance Office show that the state falls short of the mark.
“A lot of these contractors, they’re not looking for a handout,” Desperini added. “They’re just looking for a fair shot.” •