The Business of Helping Others

It takes more than talent, good ideas and hard work to breathe life into the American Dream. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development authority, learned this from her parents.

Her father, a World War II refugee from Serbia, “always wanted to start his own business,” says Klementich. “He was really good at fixing cars, so he opened an auto body shop.”

He became so well-known and trusted that local authorities would call him out in the middle of the night to carefully cut apart mangled cars and help save accident victims. And his business was a success, despite the odds.

“He could fix anything. But was he good at accounting, financing, marketing? No, that was my mom,” Klementich says. “We didn’t have a rich uncle or friends with deep pockets. We didn’t have access to the right networks, and that made it difficult.”

These days, Klementich is in the business of helping people like her father – minority entrepreneurs who want to turn their ideas into sustainable businesses. As the leader of Invest Atlanta, she’s part of a coordinated network in Georgia – which includes the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center, the Georgia Business Council, Atlanta Beltline, Inc. and ACE (Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs).

Together, these organizations and others are working to redefine the support system for small businesses that want to grow in Georgia while serving a global clientele.

“As a whole, you’re seeing more individuals leaving the corporate environment and starting their own businesses.” – Stacey Key, president and CEO, Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council

Buying Time

Economic development often is measured by the number of cranes zigzagging in a developing urban skyline, or by corporate relocations and press conferences. But small businesses drive the economy in the U.S., especially in Georgia, where more than 99.7% of the businesses – about 1.1 million – are small businesses, most of them with fewer than 20 employees.

And all of those enterprises have one critical thing in common.

“Time is the most precious resource they all have,” says Allan Adams, state director of UGA’s Small Business Development Center. “Small businesses are pulled in so many directions, often figuring out everything themselves. We can help these entrepreneurs become more efficient and that’s a big difference maker.”

Difference Maker: Allan Adams, state director of Small Business Development Center at the University of Georgia. Photo credit: Daemon Baizan

There is a knowledge gap, he adds. “You don’t know what you don’t know. For many people, ownership provides a pathway unavailable to them in corporate America, whether because of education, background, geography. But you don’t need an MBA to start a successful company.”

Focusing mainly on small business owners with skin in the game and ambitions to grow, the SBDC helps them “buy” time by shortening the learning curve. Its team of no-cost advisers – former bankers, accountants, marketers and entrepreneurs – provides one-on-one guidance across the state.

The advisers can diagnose priorities, saving business owners time on low-value tasks and preventing costly missteps. They streamline processes like licensing, financial reporting and loan packaging; offer guidance on cash flow management, pricing and supplier strategy; connect clients to financing options; and introduce tools like digital marketing and AI to speed research and planning, according to Adams.

The free advice has paid off. Over the past five years, SBDC’s clients have generated more than 15,000 jobs, secured $1.25 billion in financing and produced more than $9.5 billion in sales.

“Strong fundamentals allow small businesses to scale responsibly,” Adams says.

Filling Gaps

There are other gaps beyond that of knowledge in the process of building a business, says Martina Edwards, ACE’s president and CEO. “There is a capital gap and a trust gap. And for many women and entrepreneurs of color, it’s not just about getting a loan. It’s about accessing networks, information and relationships that have historically excluded them.”

ACE exists to help fill those gaps. As the largest Georgia-based Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), it supports women, entrepreneurs of color, immigrants and rural founders, stepping in where traditional banks often hesitate. Since its founding in 1997, ACE has provided loans totaling about $250 million, creating or sustaining more than 23,000 jobs. In 2024 alone, ACE lent more than $40 million, with 93% of it going to entrepreneurs in underserved communities.

Accessing Networks: Martina Edwards, president and CEO of Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs. Photo credit: Daemon Baizan

“Even the most disciplined entrepreneur can’t survive without financing,” says Edwards, who notes that while large corporations often have a 12-month runway of cash reserves, small businesses typically have three months or less. After that, one unexpected tariff, one supply-chain delay or one funding freeze can tip a business from growth to closure.

The “Cuts to Woke Programs,” part of the Trump administration’s budget blueprint, reshapes the federal CDFI Fund, cutting or removing grant priorities tied to race, environmental justice, or other equity categories – programs that benefit historically marginalized borrowers and communities.

Community lenders rely on those programs to support higher-risk loans that traditional lenders avoid, so shrinking the fund presents new challenges for the CDFI ecosystem. This kind of uncertainty isn’t new for ACE’s clientele, Edwards adds.

“The racial and gender wealth gaps didn’t happen by accident,” Edwards says. “They’re the result of decades of policy and practice. If we’re serious about closing those gaps, we have to be just as intentional about directing capital into communities that were locked out. When traditional lenders pull back, our communities can’t afford for us to do the same. Our role is to lean in – especially for women, people of color and business owners who don’t have another door to knock on.”

“Small businesses are pulled in so many directions, often figuring out everything themselves. We can help these entrepreneurs become more efficient and that’s a big difference maker.” – Allan Adams, state director, Small Business Development Center at the University of Georgia

Beyond Certification

Just getting to the door requires a ticket. Minority-owned and women-owned businesses that want access to diversity programs and specialized financing typically pursue official certification, which confirms that at least 51% of the business is owned, controlled and operated by individuals from a recognized group.

“Certification establishes credibility, but certification alone doesn’t generate revenue,” says Stacey Key, president and CEO of the Georgia Business Council, one of several agencies in Georgia that provide certification. Others include the Georgia Department of Administrative Services, the Greater Women’s Business Council and Georgia Department of Transportation.

Key says she and her team help businesses translate eligibility into execution – strengthening financial systems, preparing for procurement requirements, facilitating access to the decision-makers inside major corporations. Essentially, the council aims to create a ripple effect.

“When one of our certified businesses lands a major opportunity, the impact goes well beyond the contract itself,” Key says. “Revenue growth is the first outcome, but the real value shows up in what follows.”

Companies hire and reinvest locally. They diversify revenue streams, and that can evolve into lasting opportunities for, say, the small business that supplies larger operations, leading to long-term deals rather than a one-time transaction.

Key says multiyear partnerships give businesses the consistency they need to access capital, a circumstance that allows owners to secure loans, retain staff and expand operations. “Real economic mobility is about creating stability and opportunity that lasts,” she says.

An Expanding Beltline

Natalie Jones, project manager for the Atlanta Beltline’s Business Solutions Office, views small-business support as the cornerstone of economic mobility.

“Entrepreneurship is a wealth-building mechanism,” says Jones, whose role is dedicated to accelerating small business growth along the 22-mile trail. “Business ownership is one of the most sustainable ways to build generational wealth.”

Her team provides tailored coaching, operational guidance and access to affordable commercial spaces.

“Our accelerator program helps business owners build the operational capacity to operate brick-and-mortar locations within the Beltline corridor,” she notes, emphasizing that physical storefronts are central not just to sales, but to enhancing life in the community.

Beltline Business Venture, a business accelerator, and Atlanta Beltline Marketplace, a business incubator, have programs that allow entrepreneurs to test products and audiences before committing to a permanent space. And initiatives like the Local Developer Incentive Fund support affordable commercial development.

“It would be a travesty if the only businesses that could succeed in the corridor were national chains,” says Jones, who aims to foster local ownership across the more than 45 connected Beltline neighborhoods, bolstering their unique characters and ensuring job growth.

“For many women and entrepreneurs of color, it’s not just about getting a loan. It’s about accessing networks, information and relationships that have historically excluded them.” – Martina Edwards, president and CEO, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs

The Global Moment

All those storefronts and the small business support system are about to be tested on a global stage when the 2026 FIFA World Cup comes to Atlanta June 15 to July 15. The eight matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will bring international media attention, a global audience and about $1 billion in economic activity to the region. And several organizations are helping small businesses try to capture some of that action.

“We tell our clients, we want to make sure that the World Cup happens with you and not to you,” says Klementich of Invest Atlanta.

Showcase Atlanta, in partnership with the city of Atlanta, has become a centralized hub connecting entrepreneurs to grants and loans, vendor directories, technical assistance, workshops and other opportunities related to the World Cup, as well as other global events. And the Beltline’s Business Solutions Office has introduced a comprehensive Business Readiness & Activation Playbook, specifically targeting the World Cup. For Jones, this kind of global economic development focus extends beyond any one event. When she worked for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, she provided services to foreign-owned businesses, “making sure they were plugged into our local resources that would help them grow.”

Now she’s selling the Beltline’s 45 neighborhoods, “with their different flavors and personalities, which is what I believe is part of what makes Atlanta special to visitors and people who just want to experience our community.”

All of this prep for visitors is being done with the contention that opportunity favors the prepared. After small business owners told Klementich they lacked the upfront cash to stock inventory, hire staff or upgrade equipment, Invest Atlanta responded with a short-term readiness loan designed specifically for World Cup preparation. Its board of directors committed $925,000 in Tax Allocation District funding, including $250,000 in storefront improvement grants, to strengthen neighborhood corridors in and around the stadium district.

For Klementich, it’s all about getting the resources to the people who need them most. Equity is at the core of Invest Atlanta’s programs, like the $20 million Open for Business Fund and other programs that support minority- and women-owned businesses, which she sees as vital to Atlanta’s economic future.

“It’s about meeting people where they are,” says Klementich. “We want to ensure that every Atlantan has the best possibility to reach whatever success they want. When we move the needle, [we] are helping individuals achieve their next step – whatever they define that to be.”