Members of the Asian American community are being urged to leverage their buying power to further their community and those less fortunate .
The China Daily reports The Asian American Federation gathered various leaders in New York to discuss how this leverage can be used to educate and influence corporations, help entrepreneurs launch new businesses and how to better help small businesses.
According to figures from Nielson, Asian Americans spent 715 billion in 2013 and that’s expected to reach $1 trillion by 2017.
“We need to put our buying power to use to ensure that those who wish to succeed commercially in our community do so by being respectful to our culture and our linguistic diversity,” said New York City council member Peter Koo (pictured).
Asian Americans are a reflection of the larger community with a growing division between the haves and have nots. Despite their overall success in education and success in areas of law and medicine, one-sixth of Asian Americans live below the poverty line, according to Koo.
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“We need to provide services to help them become even more confident business owners and be able to express themselves linguistically,” said John Choe, One Flushing director and founder.
Agha Muhammad Saleh,founder of the Asian American Merchants and Neighborhood Alliance, urged those in attendance to provide greater assistance for new immigrants and help them open small businesses.
You can read more about suggestions made at the panel discussion in the China Daily.
