MIEC Research Agenda

Program Overview

This program was created by Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (MIEC) with support from JP Morgan Chase. The program is led by Terron Ferguson, the Associate Director of Morehouse’s International Comparative Labor Studies Program (ICLS) and MIEC’s Relationship Manager; Tiffany R. Bussey, Executive Director, MIEC; Bonita Seaborn-Moore, Director of Business Operations, MIEC; Danita Harris, Small Business Executive Program Director, MIEC; Thema Monroe-White, Ph.D., Research Consultant; Michael Cortez, Research and Data Analyst, MIEC; Kylan Kester, Founding Director, Morehouse Launchpad.

■  This series of seven (7) convenings brings together leaders from foremost Business-serving Organizations (BSOs) to co-create a thorough, shared foundational framework for providing technical assistance (TA) designed to scale and grow Black businesses in Metro Atlanta.

■  MIEC is pioneering a groundbreaking Community-engaged Research (CER) methodology that:

● Centers Black professionals, their people, and their constituents as subject matter experts

● Collects the most effective, culturally-relevant theoretical approaches, practical strategies, praxis models, and case studies from the field

Our Research

  1. “(Bussey, T. 2025. Building Black Business Report 2024. Morehouse Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (MIEC))

People

Tiffany R. Bussey
Executive Director, MIEC

Bonita Seaborn-Moore
Business Manager, MIEC

Michael Cortez
Research and Data Analyst

Danita Harris
Program Manager, MIEC
Thema Monroe-White
Ph.D., Research Consultant
MIEC
Morehouse College

  • MIEC BRINGS YOU RESEARCH

    The latest research both national and Atlanta

The National Research Outlook

RESEARCH: Closing the Black employer gap: Insights from the latest data on Black-owned businesses.

■ The Brookings Institute, Andre M. Perry, Senior Fellow – Brookings Metro, Manann Donoghoe, and Hannah Stephens (Feb. 15, 2024)

■ McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility (Feb. 1, 2024)

  • New Chase Survey: Small Businesses Remain Resilient Amid Labor Shortage, Market Challenges● Chase Media Center (May 3, 2022)

● Fundera by nerdwallet (January 23, 2023)

The Atlanta Landscape

■ The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Mirtha Donastorg (Jan. 23, 2024)

■ Lendingtree (February 6th, 2023)

■ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Solutions

■ The Hollywood Reporter, Alex Weprin (Jan. 30, 2024)

If you would like to update the information on your organization to improve our accuracy or submit your organization to be featured, please submit using the survey above the map.

The methodology for the Atlanta Business Serving Organization Ecosystem Map can be synthesized as follows:

Purpose and Significance

The map addresses a critical need in Atlanta’s business landscape by consolidating and sharing resources. It serves three key purposes:

1. Eliminating redundancies

2. Streamlining service delivery

3. Reducing barriers to access

Target Audience

The map caters to two primary groups:

1. Business owners and entrepreneurs in Atlanta seeking technical assistance

2. Business-serving organizations looking to connect with and support local entrepreneurs

Map Features

The Tableau-based ecosystem map includes but is not limited to:

– Location data for 47 out of 59 business-serving organizations in Atlanta and the greater Atlanta area

– Infographic representations of resources and services

– Detailed information on business-serving organizations

Data Collection and Maintenance

The map is maintained through:

1. AI-driven data processing and updates, including web scraping

2. User input via surveys and quarterly information requests

Limitations

1. Manual updates may cause delays in reflecting real-time changes

2. Multiple businesses at one location require additional user interaction (Click the BSO name to the right to interact)

3. Lack of filtering options for specific resources or service providers

The map is continuously improved based on user feedback to enhance its functionality and accuracy.

Please review it and provide feedback that will help us enhance the information on this map.

Contact Us For Program Interest