A group of 10 Cleveland organizations have created a coalition to promote business growth opportunities for minority entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio.

The Business Growth Collaborative, or BGC, is being created to make entrepreneurial resources more readily available to disadvantaged communities.

“At its core, the BGC is about putting the needs of diverse entrepreneurs and small business owners first,” said Cathy Belk, president of JumpStart Inc., the venture development organization that is one of the collaborative’s founders, in a news release. “Each organization in the BGC has their own unique strengths and ways of doing things — but the best way to help the people we all serve get the knowledge and support they need is to work together whenever and wherever possible.”

The group was germinated by JumpStart and Greater Cleveland Partnership’s Commission on Economic Inclusion. The eight other members are the Economic Community Development Institute, the Presidents’ Council, Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council, Magnet, the Hispanic Business Center, the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, the Council of Smaller Enterprises and the Ohio Aerospace Institute.

All work to promote various aspects of entrepreneurial development in the region.

In addition, a group of supporting organizations, including the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, the Gund Foundation and PNC Bank, are helping to get the organization off the ground.

Read the full story at Crain’s Cleveland Business.