Back
Blog
The results are in: Meet 2017’s fastest-growing inner city businesses
ICIC revealed the 100 fastest-growing inner city businesses in America at the 19th annual Inner City 100 Conference and Awards in Boston on October 3rd. The list, which seeks to celebrate and advance urban entrepreneurship, ranks companies by their growth rate during the previous five years. The 2017 winners employed 9,402 individuals in 2016, with an average of 42% of their employees living in the same neighborhood as the company. They created 5,724 new jobs in the last five years and had average 2016 revenues of $13.2 million. Over the course of nearly 20 years, ICIC has recognized 928 companies whose success illuminates the innovation and business growth happening in our inner cities.
View the full list of 2017 Inner City 100 winners on Fortune’s website.
Providing a platform for recognition, networking and learning, the Inner City 100 program continues to open doors for other rapidly-growing urban entrepreneurs and stimulate business development and inner city job creation. With a theme of “Make Collaboration Your Next Inspiration,” the 2017 Conference and Awards offered attendees the opportunity to hear the experiences of leading business executives, learn from Harvard Business School professors, and network with each other.
Other speakers included, award winner and CEO of The Menkiti Group, Bo Menkiti; Harvard Business School Professor and ICIC Founder and Chairman Michael E. Porter; David Segura, CEO of VisionIT and Lynda Applegate, Harvard Business School Professor.
In addition to unveiling the list of winners, ICIC and its partners also presented four special awards to companies that made outstanding achievements in growth, community impact, global entrepreneurship and inner city innovation.
The Staples Business Growth Award was presented to the #1-ranked company, Clason Point Partners Inc., based in Yonkers, NY.
The Chevron Dorothy A. Terrell Community Impact Award was presented to Imajine That, based in Lawrence, MA.
The FedEx Champion of Global Entrepreneurship Award was presented to BEPC Incorporated, based in San Angelo, TX.
The Marcia Lamb Inner City Innovation Award was presented to Bo Menkiti, CEO of the Menkiti Group, based in Washington, DC.
“We are extraordinarily proud of these pioneering entrepreneurs who lead the way in innovation, job creation and the economic revitalization of America’s inner cities,” said Steve Grossman, CEO of ICIC. “In addition to excellence in business, they have also demonstrated a deep commitment to and passion for their communities, which plays a huge role in the wellbeing of their local economies,” he said.
