Music mogul’s PPP iniative teams with Invest Newark, Baraka for webinar

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Invest Newark will host a webinar with Combs Enterprises to provide Newark minority-owned and women-owned small businesses with guidance on the Payroll Protection Program on April 28 at 4 p.m.

Registration is open.

“We hope that our partnership with Sean Combs’ team and his coalition of [Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprises] banks will provide more access to capital for diverse business owners,” said Invest Newark President and Chief Executive Officer Bernel Hall in a statement. “We are giving them the tools and tips to get through the process successfully.”

Combs launched Our Fair Share, a program to give minority entrepreneurs and small businesses a chance to thrive amid uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Fair Share simplifies the payroll protection application process to business owners with certified Small Business Administration lenders.

“Minority and women entrepreneurs deserve access to the capital made available by the U.S. government to enable small businesses to weather the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus,” said Combs Enterprises Chief Operating Officer Tarik Brooks in a statement. “The mission of ‘Our Fair Share’ is to do just that in a clear and easy format.”

Up to 90 percent of minority-owned and women-owned businesses have had a difficult time accessing financial assistance related to COVID-19 and will likely be shut out of PPP through a mainstream bank or lender, according to a release from Neark Mayor Ras Baraka’s office about the webinar.

In addition to Baraka and Brooks, the webinar will feature Harbor Bank of Maryland Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer John Lewis along with a PPP loan application tutorial.