The Recognition marks the 5th year in a row for ER2 among fastest-growing companies in areas of need, with an even stronger rate of growth than previous years. 

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) announced its top 100 fastest-growing companies, and once again ER2 has placed among the top tier, a five-year consecutive appearance. This year’s IC100 list was unveiled during an awards ceremony at ICIC’s 2022 Annual Conference held virtually on December 8. The full list of 2022 IC100 award winners is available here.

So, we’ll share the numbers with you, but what is most important to us is the impact of having a growing business in communities that are underserved. This places us in a mission field of sorts, providing jobs, technology and hope to those that find themselves falling behind their peers in school and business. As a company who values servanthood, this is a confirmation that our efforts are making a difference. 

Even after 12 years of serving customers with much-needed tech devices to help bridge the digital divide, ER2 posted another year of aggressive growth, both in revenue and in its number of employees. Perhaps most impressive is that the five-year growth rate also jumped 22 percent from 2021 to 2022. ER2 climbed to a rank of 26th (v 30 in 2021)  based on its growth rate of 230.41 percent from 2017 to 2021, up from 188.88 in 2021’s metrics. The company was founded in 2011, and employs over 120 workers across 10 states, or a 9 percent increase over last year. This is reflective of our commitment to building a positive culture of excellence that serves our communities and our customers. 

Steve Grossman, CEO of ICIC, stated, “Businesses continue to contend with profound socio economic issues that have severely tested their ability to emerge stronger. The global pandemic, inflation, severe workforce limitations, and supply chain issues continually impact small business owners. Yet despite this challenging outlook, the Inner City 100 class of 2022 prevailed and stayed open for business. We couldn’t be prouder of these heroes whose energy and optimism inspire us every day.”

ICIC was founded by renowned Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter in 1994 as a research and strategy organization that today is widely recognized as the preeminent authority on the economies of under-resourced communities. ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents. 

Grossman added, “The 2022 Inner City 100 small business owners knew that new strategies were required to deal with the seismic shifts they faced, and they responded admirably. They stepped out of their comfort zones to innovate, adapt, build resilience, and pivot with impressive results.”

From 2017 to 2021, the 2022 Inner City 100 companies averaged 421% revenue growth and created 4,011 total jobs. Of these 100 winners, 50% are BIPOC-owned/led, and 50% are woman-owned/led, the latter of which is a record high-number in the program’s 24-year history.

ICIC’s program recognizes successful inner city businesses and their CEOs as role models for entrepreneurship, innovative business practices and job creation in America’s urban communities. In a year that has brought challenges to filling new and existing roles, we are especially pleased that we can say that we continue to grow the number of our team members. 

“It is an honor to be among amazing companies that believe in the advantage of investing in the inner city communities across the country. Our hope is that other businesses accept the challenge and I have faith they will receive blessings they may have never foreseen, just as we have.,” said CEO Chris Ko.