Fastest-Growing Inner City Companies

It's not a ranking familiar to most, but for the past 12 years, a Boston-based Harvard nonprofit called Initiative for a Competitive Inner City has compiled the Inner City 100, a ranking of the fastest-growing companies based in the country's "underutilized business zones."

For the latest list, highlighted in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek online series, companies were ranked on their compound annual growth from 2004 to 2008. To qualify, companies had to be based in an inner city, of course, and have at least 10 full time staff members, at least $200,000 in revenue in 2004, and a minimum of $1 million in revenue in 2008. Also, it goes without saying that since the businesses on the list are growing, many of them are hiring. And that means, job opportunities!

What's especially interesting about many of the companies that made the list is that they either cater to or are owned by minority Americans. For example, Sensis, which ranked third on the list, is an interactive marketing agency specializing in Hispanic, African American, Asian American and GLBT markets. Other companies put the environment front and center, such as FutureNet Group (in Detroit), which focuses on environmental engineering and construction.

But, what's in it for the businesses? Plenty. Often, tax incentives and potential HUBZone status, that can give them an advantage in applying for federal grants, lure the companies to the neighborhoods, as well as the proximity of transportation infrastructure. Premier Organics CEO Santiago Cuenca-Romeroa says being located in inner city Oakland means there are train tracks running right through his neighborhood, allowing supplies to be dropped off right in the building.

CEO Kenneth Purcell, who runs iSeatz, a New Orleans technology company that sells software to clients in travel and entertainment, says locating it in a tough neighborhood in his hometown as it recovers from Hurricane Katrina gives the company "social capital" that attracts talent and business partners.

Check out the complete 12th Annual Inner City 100 Ranking.

Photo by markyweiss via Flickr.