
The newly-inaugurated minority-owned stock exchange — Dream Exchange — aims to make the stock market more inclusive, particularly for people of colour.
According to Scripps News, this initiative has been taken in order to provide smaller companies, often neglected in traditional markets, with the advantages and prosperity associated with being publicly traded.
Kyles, Dream Exchange co-founder, revealed that the mission is to focus on smaller companies that have been left behind, especially those led by entrepreneurs of colour.
“The goal is to reshape the narrative so that emerging businesses, ten years from now, consider the Dream Exchange as a viable source of capital for their growth,” he added.
One of the major obstacles for companies seeking success is access to capital and this challenge is further exacerbated when people of colour are concerned.
It should be that only 0.2% of New York Stock Exchange companies are minority-owned.
The founders, Cecala and Kyles, envision a ripple effect, addressing unequal access to wealth. Drawing inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Kyles stressed the importance of economic parity for achieving equality.
They believe that economic parity can be achieved when companies from diverse backgrounds are listed on a stock exchange, as highlighted by the US Treasury Department Task Force, indicating that 92% of jobs within a company are created when it goes public.