Stellantis and the National Business League establish the National Black Supplier Development Program

The Jeep and Ram vehicle maker is working with the National Business League to create a one-stop solution for black suppliers across all industries to gain training, access to capital and contracts with Fortune 500 companies and the federal government obtain.

The National Black Supplier Development Program aims to support the development of more than 2.9 million black businesses nationwide and internationally to prepare them to do business with the public and private sectors. Black businesses will have access to a portal that provides the resources for talent acquisition, supply chain sourcing, executive mentoring, sourcing opportunities, access to funding and more.

“There is a huge demographic out there that needs to be developed with resources and provided with education and training to qualify them for future opportunities in the marketplace,” Kenneth Harris, CEO of the Booker T. Washington-founded league, said of the interests to be promoted by African American companies.

“We are committed to addressing the black equity issues in the community, but more importantly, we are tapping into an untapped market that will not only fuel trade-driven activity, but also future-proof businesses. “

The car manufacturer Stellantis NV will drive the development of the virtual training and development portal. A formal application for a free pilot of the program will be received later this year and approximately 10 black businesses will participate. It is open to home-based “solopreneurs” with one staff member and larger companies. The pilot will be tailored to the needs of each participant and will offer virtual training, production facility reviews, efficiency assessments and more in the first half of 2022.

“Black businesses have much to add to our future,” said Marvin Washington, Stellantis director of electrical and electronics sourcing in North America and leader of the Stellantis African Ancestry Network. “We have black individuals who are apparent buyers of our vehicles and we are confident that as long as they are given the opportunity and access, black businesses will exceed our expectations. The program will provide this, while in the past, consciously or unconsciously, some black businesses have been left out.

After the pilot, the portal will open to National Business League members to apply. Stellantis’ suppliers and other automakers will be added over time, along with the federal government and other public and private companies from various industries and sectors, both domestically and internationally.

The program’s development comes as the auto industry and other businesses came under scrutiny from black media executives, including Byron Allen, owner of The Weather Channel and other outlets. After prominent newspaper ads published earlier this year that claimed General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra had refused to meet with black executives, GM said in April it was extending its commitment to spending with black media through 2022 will double to 4% to reach the 8% target by 2025. It also hosted a media summit for various media outlets in May.

The National Business League and Stellantis and its predecessor, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, have worked on supplier diversity in the past. Harris spoke at the company’s 21st annual MatchMaker event last year, which focused on nurturing relationships between minority and women-owned companies and the automaker and its suppliers.

After a national reckoning last year on race relations and a report from the University of California, Santa Cruz that 41% of black businesses would close permanently during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to 17% of white-owned businesses, the organizations discussed what more they could do to specifically support black businesses.

Of the 2.9 million Black-owned businesses, 95% are small businesses, and fewer than 3% of them are minority or agency certified, which can help them obtain contract labor, according to the National Business League.

“Stellantis came forward not to address an immediate need, but to address the future,” Harris said. “Most[Black companies]do not have the scale, capacity, or scale to meet future demand for contracting and procurement opportunities for Fortune 500 companies, the federal government, and the public and private sectors.”

According to the founding organizations, the National Black Supplier Development Program will see more.

“Stellantis, from the top of the House, believes that we have a lot of untapped potential in the black community,” Washington said. “We believe we can grow as a company and we can help others grow by taking these ideas and growing these businesses and diversifying our supply base.”

bnoble@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @BreanaCNoble