All-star investor Warren Buffett, Goldman Sach's Lloyd Blankfein, former New York mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg and Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School praise what they see -- from afar -- as Detroit's turnaround in an op-ed article in the Free Press:
Detroit has shifted from being the prime example of a dying city into a test case for how to revitalize an American city in the 21st century. We know it can be done. The New York City of the 1970s – hollowed out from crime and population loss – is a dim memory.
We are in Detroit today to celebrate the graduation of small-business owners from the inaugural class of Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses in Southeast Michigan – a $20-million program to spur small-business growth and encourage and support entrepreneurship.
The program in Detroit, as in 22 other cities across the country, is designed to address the challenges that small-business owners face by creating a targeted educational curriculum delivered through local colleges and institutions. Its 100-hour curriculum covers all of the traditional business disciplines and culminates with each participant's development of a step-by-step plan for growth. Businesses are trained in topics including accounting, leadership, marketing, negotiations and operations.
