The Charlotte Region’s growth is creating new opportunities for businesses of every size, and the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance is evolving to ensure small businesses are ready to take part.
This year, the CLT Alliance is taking an important next step by launching a Small Business team, a dedicated function designed to strengthen how it supports entrepreneurs across the region. This work positions small business growth as a defining pillar of the Charlotte Region’s long-term competitiveness.
As the community prepares for significant investment in transportation, mobility, and infrastructure, the CLT Alliance is aligning its efforts to make small businesses aware of the opportunities ahead and prepare them to participate and benefit.
The Small Business team will empower entrepreneurs by leveraging the full strength of the CLT Alliance’s investor network. Through partnerships with employers, nonprofits, capital providers, and public agencies, the Alliance will connect businesses to the resources and relationships they need to grow and succeed.
The mission is simple: build an innovative, inclusive regional economy where small businesses have access to real opportunity — and the support to act on it.
This team will be led by a newly created Vice President of Small Business Acceleration, working closely with the CLT Alliance’s established Small Business Committee, currently chaired by Lucia Zapata Griffith, owner of METRO Landmarks, and Vice Chair Rai Glover, Charlotte market president at Huntington Bank. Together, they will drive a coordinated, employer-informed strategy that prepares small businesses to compete for the region’s most significant economic development investments, particularly in transportation and mobility, using existing and emerging resources.
Historically, many small business support efforts operated within the CLT Alliance Foundation. The Foundation will continue to serve as a 501(c)(3) fundraising mechanism, while strategic initiatives are now integrated directly into the CLT Alliance to improve focus, coordination, and impact.
The CLT Alliance remains committed to building a business-first, opportunity-rich ecosystem that expands access and strengthens readiness across the Charlotte Region.
