I attended a breakout session this morning on Expanding and Empowering AA and NHPI Entrepreneurship.
What's happening: I flew to Washington DC to attend a forum supported by the White House on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
Why it matters: As one of three Native Hawaiian tech CEOs that I know of, I felt it important to attend and have my voice heard.
The speakers were:
- Jennifer Kim: Associate Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
- Christy Innouvoung: Founder, Tuk Tuk Box
- Helen Nguyen: Owner and Chef, Saigon Social
- Shanty Sigrah Asher: Pacific Islander Liaison Officer, Office of Economic Revitalization, City and County of Honolulu
- Luisa Blue: Commissioner, President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
By the numbers: Of the five panelists, only two were entrepreneurs. I did not find the panel spent enough time on the actual topic of entrepreneurship.
In addition, one of the speakers claimed that only 3% of the population in Hawaii is made up of Pacific Islanders, which she defined as Micronesians and Polynesians (including Native Hawaiians). This is incorrect. Native Hawaiians alone are about 21% of Hawaii's population.
The bottom line: While it was cool to see a panel of all women, a better job could have been done focusing on entrepreneurship.
Hoala Greevy
