BIN Exclusive: Ron Busby Highlights U.S. Black Chamber's Certification & Business Directory

In an interview with Doug Davis and Esther Dillard, Ron Busby Sr., CEO and President of the U.S. Black Chambers of Commerce, discussed the significance of the nation's only Black business certification.

This certification, along with the U.S. Black Chamber’s "Buy Black" directory, helps Black-owned businesses stand out by verifying they are 51% Black-owned, making it easier for consumers and corporate America to support them.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Doug Davis and I'm Esther Dillard on Your Home
for twenty four to seven News the Black Information Network.
Here are your top stories. As a result of the
recent federal interest rate cut, reports say mortgage demand is up,
including for black home buyers. Police in South Carolina are
investigating the deadly shooting of a black toddler.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
And since the COVID pandemic, there's been a significant jump
in black owned businesses. In the third quarter of twenty
twenty one alone, black owned businesses skyrocketed to a twenty
one percent increase. Prior to the pandemic, some business owners
may not be aware of that the US Black Chambers
of Commerce is available to help black businesses scale and
stay on course with us. To talk more about that

(00:41):
is Ron Buzby, Senior CEO and President of the US
Black Chambers of Commerce, Incorporated. And Ron, welcome back to
the BI answer. So for folks who may not know
how the Chamber works, share a bit of insight into
the organization.

Speaker 3 (00:54):
US Black Chamber is out of the state, started in
two thousand and nine here in Washington, DC, and when
we were first created, we were created under what we
call our five Pillars advocacy. So each and every day
we were here in Washington, d c. Creating and fighting
for good intentional policies that are going to be beneficial
for black owned businesses. The second one is access to capital.

(01:17):
And when you talk to any small business owner, they
will say their number one concern is access to capital.
But when you talk to black business owners, they will
say top three availability, affordability, and accessibility. And so the
US Black Chamber is doing two things as relations to
access to capital. We have a partner with Lendustry, which

(01:38):
is the largest black owned CDFI in the country, community
Development Financial institution to ensure that our black businesses have
the access to capital that they need and for our
smaller needs, those businesses that are looking for twenty five
thousand dollars or less. We are partner with Liberty Bank
to provide a credit card for access to capital very

(02:01):
competitive rates through a black owned business and with Black Bank.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
What about some of the resources that your organization may
be connected to.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
We have our own Black Business Directory as well as
the only Black Business certification. You can be certified as
a black business. Historically we could only be certified as
minority owned businesses, which made it very difficult and challenging
for both the federal government, Corporate America, and just consumers
in general to find black owned businesses that were certified

(02:33):
to ensure that they were fifty one percent owned by
a Black American.

Speaker 4 (02:38):
So the US Black Chamber created by Black by b
Lack dot us by black dot us, which is a
free black business directory and certifications for black owned businesses
which Corporate America is recognizing as well as Black consumers.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Ron Buzzby, Senior CEO and President of the US Black
Chambers of Commerce, Incorporated, thank you so much for sharing
some time with us here on the BI in. You
always keep us informed and our black entrepreneurs appreciate you.
I'm Doug Davis along with Esther Dillard on your Home
for twenty four to seven News, The Black Information Network