South Carolina Business Review

African American businesses challenged by capital raising in SC

By Mike Switzer

Published February 2, 2022 at 5:30 AM EST

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According to our next guest, almost half of her small business assistance organization’s clients are African American, yet these clients continue to struggle to obtain financing. Which is why she recently announced an initiative designed to uplift the economic prospects for these minority business owners and entrepreneurs. Mike Switzer interviews Michele Abraham, state director for the South Carolina Small Business Development Center in Columbia.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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