Minority Enterprise Development Week, 2016

Vol. 81

Friday,

No. 204

October 21, 2016

Part IV

The President

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Proclamation 9526--Minority Enterprise Development Week, 2016

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9526 of October 18, 2016

Minority Enterprise Development Week, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Since our earliest days, entrepreneurship has embodied
the very promise of our Nation, reaffirming the notion
that in a place of such limitless potential, Americans
can forge a prosperous future and build a better life
for themselves and their families. Women and men of
every faith, background, and race have channeled their
talents and ingenuity into harnessing the spirit of
innovation that has long been the hallmark of our
people. And as an essential part of our country's
story, minority-owned enterprises have helped spur this
progress. During Minority Enterprise Development Week,
we reflect on the significant ways they have helped put
our economy on the path to success, and we recommit to
empowering every hardworking American to write our next
great chapters.

Minority-owned firms employ millions of workers and
generate more than $1 trillion in economic output,
revitalizing our communities and driving our growth.
That is why my Administration is helping entrepreneurs
of all backgrounds and small businesses across our
country get the resources they need to get off the
ground. Through the Minority Business Development
Agency, we have led efforts to promote growth and
competitiveness. We are helping streamline the process
of starting a company and investing in entrepreneurship
training and skill building for more Americans. Through
www.Business.USA.gov, we are helping more enterprises
get information about Federal contracts, and we are
connecting them to critical resources to help develop
and grow a business. In today's global economy,
minority-owned businesses are essential to our
country's success. They are twice as likely as other
businesses to export their goods and services, and I am
working to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation
through a smart trade agenda that will allow us to sell
more goods, boost economic competitiveness, and help
more of our entrepreneurs thrive.

Our Nation has always drawn strength from the diversity
of our people, and no matter who you are, what you look
like, or where you come from, America is a place where
everyone deserves a chance to get ahead. This week, we
must continue working to support minority enterprises
and all entrepreneurs--and ensure that by expanding
access to the networks, capital, and opportunities
required to build a business, everybody can have a fair
shot at reaching their piece of the American dream.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim October 23 through
October 29, 2016, as Minority Enterprise Development
Week. I call upon all Americans to celebrate this week
with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities
to recognize the many contributions of our Nation's
minority enterprises.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-first.