Davids Discusses Support for Small Businesses with KC Area Entrepreneurs

KANSAS CITY, MO– Today, Representative Sharice Davids joined Kansas City area business leaders, Entrepreneurial Support Organizations (ESOs), and lenders to learn more about the challenges facing local entrepreneurs. Alongside the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and Kauffman Center, Davids shared more about her work to support the region’s bustling small business community. Davids, a member of the U.S. House Small Business Committee, remains committed to leveraging the decline in unemployment and increase in small business applications to lower costs for Kansas businesses and families.

“Our region’s small businesses are at the heart of our communities, and I value the opportunity to gather with them to learn more about their challenges and successes,” said Davids. “Despite recent economic progress with record job creation and increased small business applications, there’s still more work needed to get prices back down for both businesses and families. Through my role on the U.S. House Small Business Committee, I’ll continue standing up for our local entrepreneurs, so they can support our economy, their families, and their employees."

"This roundtable conversation with Congresswoman Davids could not have come at a better time, as the KC Chamber is currently in the middle of our annual Small Business Celebration, which is recognized as one of the largest Chamber small business celebrations in the United States,” said Joe Reardon, President & CEO, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. “A major component of our work with small businesses is the Chamber's Access to Capital task force whose work aims to break down systemic barriers to economic growth in our historically underrepresented communities by connecting bankers with entrepreneurial support organizations and small business owners. This work takes time and intention, and together with our strategic partners and elected leaders like Congresswoman Davids, we’ll undoubtedly achieve significant gains in resolving the inequities in banking for a more inclusive future."

During today’s roundtable discussion, business owners spoke on their success rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic and continued challenges such as access to capital, workforce retention, and supply costs. Businesses from Kansas’ Third District taking part in today’s discussion include Happy Camper Montessori School, which Davids visited last year, along with Villalobos Vitality LLC, PLEX Capital, Quality Framing Services, DLH Child Development Center, Jason Wright Electric, and Green Line WX, LLC.

Davids, who previously released a report on recent local small business growth, also shared what she is doing in Congress to support that growth. This includes voting to strengthen domestic supply chains and introducing legislation to support veteran and Native American business owners — both bills that have recently passed the U.S. House. Key findings include:

• In 2021, 10,600 new business applications were filed in Kansas’ Third District, an increase of around 7,500 since 2019.
• The Kansas Small Business Development Center served 1,203 clients in 2021, leading to $49 million in annual sales, 876 jobs created, and 24 new businesses.
• In 2021, small businesses made up 92.2 percent of all employers in Kansas’ Third District, with 16,173 small businesses employing 175,911 people.

As a member of the U.S. House Small Business Committee, Davids has pushed for oversight of relief programs and urged the SBA to address fraud and protect small business owners in need. As a member of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access, she has also focused on shoring up supply chains for small- and medium-sized manufacturers here at home and lowering operation costs.