RapidRatings, the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce (ILBCC), and JPMorgan Chase announced the launch of the Financial Health Pilot Project – an initiative to help strengthen diverse businesses in the Chicagoland area by enabling minority-owned companies to develop long-term, sustainable business relationships. Participating business will receive a free financial assessment of their business and market intelligence to interpret, understand, and articulate their financial position to investors, lenders, clients, and other stakeholders.
JPMorgan Chase and RapidRatings are co-investing to provide complimentary, two-year memberships on RapidRatings’ FHR Exchange, a secure membership platform where businesses—of all shapes and sizes—can share and access financial health ratings, analytics, and other critical information—to grow and protect their businesses.
JPMorgan Chase’s senior business consultant team specializes in providing financial coaching and mentoring to minority entrepreneurs, as well as access to resources for better understanding their financial position and opportunities. That team, together with RapidRatings will develop a roadmap for business owners that will lead to clarity about their business finances, and ultimately increased financial health as measured by the RapidRatings financial health assessment.
Fifty Black-, Hispanic- and Latino-owned small businesses made up of clients of JPMorgan Chase’s senior business consultant team, and members of the ILBCC will participate in the pilot.
RapidRatings has a long history of enabling small businesses to access enterprise clients and expand their collaboration through the language of financial health.
“Diversity and inclusion are core tenets in our mission here at RapidRatings, which is why we are proud to partner with these two prestigious organizations to help minority-owned businesses make connections, attract new customers, and grow their organizations,” said James Gellert, RapidRatings Chairman & CEO. “Many small businesses fight to be seen by large companies and don’t get assessed on a level playing field. RapidRatings has enabled hundreds of thousands of private companies around the world to build long-lasting business relationships through financial health transparency.”
Larry Ivory, President of the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce, said: “Tools that add value to access financial resources are important. The RapidRatings financial health project, in collaboration with JPMorgan Chase, will afford ILBCC members to position themselves for more financing opportunities and become more competitive and profitable in the marketplace.”
“Our commitment to businesses diversity goes beyond increasing our spending with diverse businesses,” said Ted Archer, Global Head of Business Partner Diversity at JPMorgan Chase. “We are taking steps to lower some of the most common barriers experienced acutely by Black, Hispanic and Latino business owners in particular. This unique collaboration with RapidRatings and the ILBCC will help participating businesses access insights into their financial health that can set them on a pathway to more resilience, growth, and greater business opportunities.”
The pilot will provide deeper understanding of the FHR exchange and potential future collaboration opportunities and may expand to additional regions in 2023.
