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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Anh-Thu Nguyen, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Democracy at Work Institute
2:45:13
ยท
173 sec
Anh-Thu Nguyen testified on behalf of the Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative (WCBDI), highlighting its achievements and requesting increased funding for fiscal year 2026. She emphasized the initiative's role in creating jobs, supporting small businesses, and providing opportunities for low-wage workers and immigrants.
- The WCBDI has created over 1,000 jobs, 200 new worker cooperative businesses, and reached more than 10,000 entrepreneurs since its inception in FY 2015.
- Notable achievements include launching Afrolingual, a translation cooperative, and Radiate Consulting, a professional services cooperative.
- Nguyen requested an increase in WCBDI funding to $5,090,000 for FY 2026, up from the current $3,670,000, to support the creation of 31 new worker co-op small businesses and over 100 new jobs.
Anh-Thu Nguyen
2:45:13
Good afternoon, chair Felice, members of the New York City Council Committee on Small Business.
2:45:17
My name is Anthu Ng Wing, and I'm the director of strategic partnerships at Democracy at Work Institute, a member of the worker cooperative business development initiative.
2:45:26
Thanks to city council's investment over the last 10 fiscal cycles, we've provided significant benefit to aspiring business owners and cooperative small businesses under the administration of New York City Department of Small Business Services.
2:45:38
Our initiative creates and supports resilient employment and business ownership opportunities unlike any other in New York City, providing critical support largely to low wage and contingent workers, the majority of them foreign born and people of color, making sure that they're connected to business ownership opportunities, especially when traditional routes to employment and business ownership aren't available.
2:45:59
Our work puts agency and assets in the hands of workers and their communities specifically.
2:46:04
Some of our key achievements in the past few years have included the successful launch of Afrolingual, an interpretation and translation cooperative that offers language support in over 10 African languages.
2:46:15
In addition, we've established Radiate Consulting, a professional services consulting cooperative building capacity for immigrant services organizations and small businesses led by young professionals who are all graduates of CUNY, or many of them, with deep experience in these spaces and come from these communities themselves.
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It's doubled in size and reached profitability within two years of launch.
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We've also developed a rapid response cooperative business toolkit in English and Spanish for community based organizations to make small business entrepreneurship using the worker cooperative model more accessible and inclusive to all communities.
2:46:50
Since its inception in fiscal year twenty fifteen, worker cooperative business development initiative has created more than a thousand jobs and pathways to business ownership, created more than 200 new worker cooperative businesses offering higher hourly wages, better working conditions, and importantly, building wealth and equity for workers, and reached more than 10,000 entrepreneurs with education and technical assistance services.
2:47:12
Amidst ongoing economic volatility, as we know, low
Barry Pinckney
2:47:15
interest need
Anh-Thu Nguyen
2:47:17
of support more than ever.
2:47:19
We're familiar with navigating and thriving in times of crisis, especially in COVID times.
2:47:23
We expanded our services, grew our membership in alignment with increased demand, and moved more than $20,000,000 in emergency funding to help small businesses thrive.
2:47:31
Over the past year, our services have been in high demand, especially impactful as a tool for providing access to small business ownership for the city's newer migrant community.
2:47:40
We urge city council to continue investing in worker cooperative businesses in New York City through enhancing WCBI funding to 5,090,000 for fiscal year twenty six.
2:47:48
Currently, we we received 3,670,000.00 split amongst 14 organizations.
2:47:53
This will provide with the startup of 31 new worker co op small businesses, over a hundred new
Barry Pinckney
2:47:57
jobs expired.
Anh-Thu Nguyen
2:47:58
In education reaching over 2,000 existing startup and aspiring cooperative entrepreneurs.
2:48:03
Thank you so much for your time, and, thanks again.