The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and BusinessWeek Small Biz magazine just released the list of the 100 fastest-growing inner-city companies in the U.S., a.k.a. 2009 Inner City 100. We’re proud to say Azavea ranks 13 on the list.

Three other Philly companies made the list, which is really exciting: Amuneal Manufacturing Corporation (51), Stroll (62), and Perryman Building and Construction Services (94). Philly is right behind Boston and Denver, each with 5 companies on the list. Oakland has 4 companies as well, while New York and Los Angeles have 3. Go Philly! You can read more about it on Technically Philly.

Callowhill, our neighborhood

For the 2009 list, over 5,000 nominations were received. The 2009 Inner City 100 winners grew at a compound annual growth rate of 40% and an average rate of 324% between 2003 and 2007. Collectively, the top 100 businesses employed nearly 17,000 people and created nearly 10,000 new jobs over the past five years.

We are honored to be on the list this year. As Michael Porter, founder and CEO of ICIC said “ by creating jobs, income, and wealth for local residents, these high-growth businesses are vivid proof that the most effective way to address economic inequality in America is to equip every community to prosper in the market system.”

The full press release is available here.