“I want everybody to have an opportunity to sit at the economic table,” says Marc Morial, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban League, the largest and oldest civil rights organization in the country. Morial, who previously served as Mayor of New Orleans, notes that while entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups have boundless talent and drive, they don’t always have access to the right connections to open doors.

Studies by the Department of Commerce show that women- and minority-owned businesses in the U.S. have growth rates that beat the Standard & Poor’s 500, the general benchmark of the American market. So why are investors so tentative to finance them?

In this episode of Access & Opportunity, Carla Harris talks with Morial about common misconceptions around the risks of investing in women and multiculturally-owned businesses, and some of the hurdles they face as a result. In discussing how the National Urban League — together with partners like the National Development Council and Morgan Stanley — is breaking down the barriers of access to capital and helping fund incredible entrepreneurs, Morial sheds light on some of the easy fixes that governments, investors and nonprofits can make to open up access to all.

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