If you’re a minority business owner with great ideas and need a little help bringing those ideas to life, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce may have the perfect program for you.
The Greensboro chamber opened applications for second class from its minority business accelerator called Scaling to Excel.
In Guilford County there are a number of programs aimed at helping minority entrepreneurs succeed, including this one, and the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce is now accepting applications for the second round of Scale to Excel – a Minority Business Accelerator Program that provides executive training, management systems and support for small businesses.
The program, which is run by instructor Channelle James, is open to anyone who is “CEO and / or 51% ethnic minority business owner.”
This is a joint effort between the national organization Interise, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and Accelerate Greensboro.
It uses Interise’s “StreetWise MBA Program”, used by more than 80 similar programs across the country – with, according to Interise, an average revenue growth rate of 36% for participating companies, and four times the rate. job creation compared to the private sector.
In the press release announcing the program’s new class, Bernard Johnson, the director of Scale to Excel, said this could be the big break some minority entrepreneurs are looking for.
“Scale to Excel has proven to be a game changer for minority owned businesses in the Greensboro area,†Johnson said. “The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce’s Minority Business Accelerator has created a program and a model for businesses to have a path to success. Interise is really excited to be joining the Chamber and looks forward to the second cohort. The opportunities for local minority businesses to connect, build their capacities and refine their strategies are so essential to an inclusive localized economy. “
James, the instructor, is a faculty member at the Bryan School of Business and Economics at UNC Greensboro. She is also the President and CEO of Community Ventures Inc., a non-profit startup focused on “Creating Social Good in the City of Greensboro through Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation.”
James has published articles and book chapters based on his research on sustainable / social entrepreneurship, diversity and ‘community support for entrepreneurship for vulnerable communities’.
Considered an experiment worth $ 10,000 by some accounts, program participants pay $ 199. The remainder of the cost is subsidized by the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce.
Scholarships for the class will be available on a limited basis.
Virtual information sessions for interested business owners will be held on Thursday, January 6 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and Monday, January 10 from 4 to 5 p.m. Registrations are now open on greensboro.org/accelerategreensboro/scaletoexcel/. Applications must be sent before 5:00 p.m. on Saturday January 22.
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