Cincinnati – More than 12 small businesses across Cincinnati are receiving grants to grow and overcome obstacles they may face.
Each business receives $20,000 from the Community Economic Development Agency from the City of Cincinnati Commercial Tenant Improvement Program (CTIP).
“Supporting the creation of more vibrant communities and strengthening the local economy is to be the goal of our commercial tenant improvement programme and to alleviate the very high construction and material cost barriers currently being realized by small and medium-sized businesses.
The grant can be used by businesses that have been in business in the city for at least a year, or are considering moving to the city.
This is the second round of the city-given CTIP grant. In 2024, they provided grants to 11 local businesses.
One of the companies receiving $20,000 is Selfie Cincy downtown.
“Everyone has a wide range of experience in this field,” said Amari Samya, CEO and owner of Selfie Cincy.
Monitoring: Local business owners analyze how these grants can help
Cincinnati overcomes barriers by granting 13 small businesses $20,000 grants to support growth
Selfie Cincy has nine different interactive rooms where you can take all the photos and videos that customers want. In Grant Money, Samiya said she plans to move to the new space with twice the area of the current building.
“We’re expanding to over 15. This is like a big jump and we can curate the space that meets the needs and demands of the event space,” Samiya said.
Renika Smiley and her business, Lusheous Collection, also received a $20,000 grant. They spend the money to turn the old barber shop in College Hill into a boutique of her dreams specializing in women’s plus size clothing.
“I was a plus size woman and I knew how difficult it would be for us, so I wanted to make sure we had our own,” Smiley said.
The new Lusheous Collection Building has a boutique on the front and a suite for other beauty-centric small businesses to rent.
Lush green collection
“So we can make more revenue, highlight other business owners and grow within College Hill,” Smiley said.
We asked both Samia and Smiley what it means for small business owners to have this opportunity to grow their business.
“Blessings, huge blessings,” Smiley said. “It gives you a lot of confidence.”
“Grant opportunities, city support, Cincinnati support are very important to us because we can maintain and grow our footing,” Samiya said.
