With the D.C. area serving as a hotbed of entrepreneurship and innovation, it’s no wonder that its entrepreneurs come from an extremely diverse set of backgrounds.

One of the people ensuring that the community keeps and expands this diversity is Melissa Bradley, director of Project 500, whose mission is to fund disadvantaged businesses.

“As someone who’s started a business and encountered gender bias, race bias, age bias, I realize that while we treat it as if it’s the American Dream, it’s not equally accessible for everybody,” said Bradley.

Based on feedback from Venture DC 2015 – participants, partners and entrepreneurs — Project 500 was launched in April 2016.

Considering the rapid development happening in the D.C. region, it was important to Bradley that disadvantaged business people had the ability to participate in their own economic security, as well as the area’s future.

Project 500 serves as “a real chance for them. And we know that for people of color, entrepreneurship is often times more of a necessity, than this American Dream,” said Bradley.

“Our social capital networks, by history, are not as well advanced… we don’t have as many people, yet, that can open those doors and be a gate-opener as well as a gate-closer,” said Bradley.

To assist, Project 500 has worked to support over 374 companies so far in the D.C. region. “The three major sectors are construction and real estate, tech and tech-enabled, and professional services… these are folks who are from D.C., who have been here, who are plugging along, who have extensive corporate experience,” Bradley told What’s Working in Washington.

“If you come to the program, we’re going to focus on skills, we’re going to help break down barriers, get you access to capital, which are three of the things that most people don’t have access to in D.C.,” she said.

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