Hillsborough County in Florida is home to a lot of minority-owned businesses. In fact, minority-owned businesses make up for nearly half (48 percent) of all of businesses within the county.

Yet, these same businesses only contribute less than 5 percent of the county’s total revenue, according to a study conducted by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that, in an effort to make those numbers better, the chamber has sponsored a new Minority Business Accelerator (MBA) in order to provide minority (namely black and Hispanic) businesses in Tampa and Hillsborough with the resources they need to effectively build their businesses.

Five to eight businesses with at least $500,000 in revenue and an active business plan featuring a clear growth-strategy will be selected for the program.

"We aim to give businesses practical tools that they can use to overcome barriers such as lack of access to capital or key decision makers," said the director of the program, LaKendria Robinson.

"This program is definitely necessary for the community," said fire and safety inspection company L&L Group Services businessman Lorenzo Williams. "We have a lot of businesses that have growth potential. We need access to all multicultural businesses in order for us to grow."

Though a few local business owners are concerned about the revenue requirement, Robinson recommends those that don’t meet all guidelines to still consider applying, and notes that the chamber has other programs that might be a better fit.

The chamber has been developing the MBA for three years, visiting similar programs in Greenville, South Carolina and Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2015, Cincinnati's minority program generated 250 new jobs and 24 percent in year-over-year growth for the participating businesses. The Greenville chamber recorded 138 new jobs in 2013.

The chamber's taken its time to get the program right. Over the course of three years, program officials studied other programs, including ones in South Carolina and Ohio that generated hundreds of new jobs and double-digit growth for participating businesses.

"If we can mirror [that success] here, we think that is a win," MBA chair Bemetra Simmons said.

Applications for the new MBA program will become available on August 4, and the inaugural class will be announced on December 14.