Black-owned businesses
have flourished in the last couple of decades compared to the days of
segregation and disparity and it shines through the faces of Oprah
Winfrey, Percy Miller and Sean “P.Diddy” Combs.
Harpo Inc.,
Radio One Inc. and Johnson Publishing Company, are just some of Black
Enterprise‘s Top 10 Black-Owned companies in 2003.
In the Hip Hop community companies like Roc-A-Fella Records and Sean John Clothing might stick out more than others.
All
in all, Black Enterprise studies also show that in 2006, although the
health-care industry made the BE 100 list of the nation’s largest black
own businesses, it was at the bottom of the list bringing in $123
million dollars (only 0.5 percent) of overall sales. Media was higher
on the list.
The Census Bureau‘s report, “Survey of Black
Business Owners: Black-Owned firms 2002” showed that black-owned
businesses rose by 45 percent and the revenue increased, bringing in an
alarming $8.8. Billion.
DX has good news for all you non-rappers.
At
the top of the year, the press released news that the first black-owned
manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients in the U.S. PRWT
Services, Inc. launched a deal with Merck &Co., Inc. expecting to
bring in $100-$200 million a year.
What does this mean for black business?
It
shows that Willie F. Johnson, CEO and Chairman of PRWT is the first
black American with the rights to manufacturer pharmaceutical
ingredients and that possibility is always an option.
“PRWT can
now participate in an industry with tremendous growth potential and
establish a strategic supplier relationship with Merck, one of the
premier pharmaceutical companies in the world,” said Johnson in an
interview for PRWT.com. He continued to say that the employees of the
company gave Merck the confidence to “complete the historical deal.“
The
plant is based in Riverside, PA and PRWT is dedicated to discovering,
developing and manufacturing vaccines and medicines that address unmet
medical needs. The company also publishes health information as a
non-profit service.
So what does this mean for black faces in Hip Hop? You can do more than rap, design clothes and produce a track.
It also means Jay-Z and his potential children will be well taken care of…as long as they’re insured.
Now homie, that’s major!
For more information: http://www.prwt.com/news.html
