PostNet International Franchise Corp. named to "Inner city 100".

PostNet International Franchise Corp. was named one of fastest-growing inner-city companies in America in the 2006 ICIC-Inc. magazine's Inner City 100. The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City or ICIC is a national not-for-profit organization founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter.

Now in its eighth year, the list provides original data on the fastest -growing inner-city businesses in the United States and ranks the top 100.

More than 4,500 new nominations were received for the 2006 list. The winners grew at a compound annual growth rate of 53 percent and an average rate of 655 percent between 2000 and 2004. These 100 companies have created more than 10,381 new jobs between 2000 and 2004 and employed more than 17,181 people in 2004.

"This year's Inner City 100 winners are located in inner cities, but their performance ranks them among the best-performing companies operating from any location, including central business districts," said Initiative for a Competitive Inner City President and CEO Dorothy Terrell.

Highlights of the 2006 Inner City 100 list

A few of the highlights from the 2006 Inner city 100 list include:

* 32 percent minority-owned, compared with just 11 percent nationally.

* 13 percent Latino, 14 percent black, 2 percent Asian, and 2 percent American-Indian.

* 14 percent of the list's companies are run by immigrants to the United States.

* 20 percent owned by women, the highest representation of women on the list to date. Nationally, only two percent of companies over $1 million are women-owned.

* More than 10,381 new jobs were created between 2000 and 2004 and more than 17,181 people were employed in 2004 by these companies.

* Those listed boast an average workforce that is 44 percent minority.

* The average pay was nearly $15 per hour for hourly employees and $44,000 per year for salaried employees.

These companies employ inner-city residents who held nearly 35 percent of all Inner City 100 jobs. According to ICIC's State of the Inner City Economies project, just 23 percent of all inner city jobs overall are held by inner-city residents.

The Inner City 100 winners are based in 65 cities and companies were selected from a pool of more than 4,500 nominations including 500 from Merrill Lynch and 500 from mayors' offices. These companies were nominated from 150 cities. Criteria for the award include having at least 51 percent of operations located in economically-distressed urban areas; having sales of at least $200,000 in 2000 and at least $1 million in 2004 for the 2006 list. Average annual sales for the 100 companies in 2004 were in excess of $31 million. Collectively, sales totaled more than $3 billion.