About
About the Coalition
How we started
History
On March 6, 2026, the largest assembled group of minority chambers of commerce and small business organizations in New York gathered on the steps of City Hall. Thirty-four organizations, representing Hispanic, African-American, Orthodox Jewish, Korean, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Dominican, and Ecuadorian business communities along with veterans' and women's business groups, raised three concerns: discrimination and red tape in minority business certification, a federal SBA policy cutting legal permanent residents off from SBA-backed loans, and a proposed property tax increase that would fall hardest on neighborhood retailers.
Two months later, on May 7, 2026, the group formalized. Roughly 65 chambers of commerce and advocacy organizations announced the formation of the Multicultural Business Coalition and elected a board. Within a week the coalition was on the front page of the New York Post, and by late August it had taken the City of New York to court.
Our mission
Mission
The Multicultural Business Coalition unites diverse business organizations, leaders, and entrepreneurs. By addressing systemic barriers and expanding access to vital economic tools, we work to ensure underrepresented enterprises have the collective power and resources required to compete, expand, and lead.
We recognize that every community has its own heritage, traditions, experiences, and challenges. Our members share common obstacles: barriers to capital, unequal access to contracting, discrimination, and the lack of unified representation when policy is made. Operating separately, each community's chamber was easy to overlook. Operating together, the coalition cannot be.
“True economic growth happens when every community has an equitable seat at the table. At MBC, we bridge cultures, unify member chambers, and champion policies that transform local potential into lasting national prosperity.”
How we work
How the Coalition Works
The coalition is the hub. Its members are the spokes: chambers of commerce, trade associations, merchant groups, and business advocacy organizations, each with its own membership and its own mission. The coalition does not recruit individual businesses. It gives the organizations that already represent them a shared platform, a shared voice, and, when it is needed, a shared legal team.
That structure is what let roughly 65 organizations agree in a matter of weeks to challenge a signature policy of the mayor of New York, and what will let them move together on the next issue.
What we work on
Priorities
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Policy and advocacy
Amplifying the collective voice of multicultural businesses to influence local, state, and federal policy, at hearings, in the press, and in court.
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Economic equity and funding
Connecting member chambers with capital, grants, and economic resources to bridge historic funding disparities.
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Chamber capacity building
Organizational development, governance support, and peer-to-peer networking across the coalition's member chambers.
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Supplier diversity and certification
Certification programs that are fair, navigable, and actually deliver contracts to the businesses they were built for.
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Workforce inclusion
Labor and wage policy that keeps hiring possible for small employers operating on thin margins.
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Combating discrimination
Confronting discrimination against multicultural communities and small businesses, including through the courts when necessary.
Who we represent
Who We Represent
Member organizations represent Hispanic, Asian, Caribbean, African, Middle Eastern, Jewish, South Asian, and immigrant business communities across New York, New Jersey, and beyond, with national and international partners. They include ethnic chambers of commerce, faith-based business groups, supermarket and bodega associations, trade groups, veterans' and women's business organizations, and neighborhood associations.
Nonpartisan
The coalition works with Republicans and Democrats, with civil rights organizations, and with any elected official willing to sit down with our members. Our test for any policy is simple: does it help or hurt the businesses in our communities?
Stay Informed
Alerts on hearings, rallies, court dates, and the issues the coalition is fighting on.