The Greater Des Moines Partnership has launched a business accelerator to help minority-owned businesses gain access to the knowledge and networks to be successful.

The Scale DSM Minority Business Accelerator is designed to help minority-owned businesses increase revenue, create jobs and have a positive impact on the community. The program, which is free, will run from June through December.

Participants will complete Interise’s award-winning StreetWise MBA (minority business accelerator), which is centered around practical, case-based peer learning experiences. The program will be divided into five modules: business strategy and leadership, financial management, sales and marketing, talent and capital resources, and strategic growth action plans. Participants will be required to attend one session per week.

Juan Pablo Sanchez, the Partnership’s director of inclusive business strategies, said the program will help empower business owners who have a diverse background and “cultivate an environment where companies can ramp up their growth.”

The Des Moines region is one of several in the country working with Interise to administer the program.

A 2021 assessment from Interise showed that 55% of businesses that completed the program increased or maintained annual revenues, with an average annual revenue growth of 13%. A total of 71% of businesses that participated reported being profitable and 60% of them added or retained jobs.

To be eligible to participate, a business must have minority-owned status, annual revenue of between $150,000 and $4 million, have at least one full-time employee other than the owners, been in business for at least two years, and the ability to attend class for seven months.

The deadline to apply is May 8.