Black women are leading the country in successful entrepreneurship ventures and ESSENCE is teaming up with the only Federal Government agency solely dedicated to serving the minority business community to take things to the next level.
The American Express State of Women-Owned Businesses Report recently listed Black women as the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States. ESSENCE is excited to announce a new partnership with the Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to help our ladies make even more strides as successful, self-employed businesswomen.
A large part of ensuring the continued success of established and aspiring Black women in the entrepreneurship field is equipping them with the tools necessary to make it happen. In conjunction with their partnership with the ESSENCE brand, this year, the MBDA will bring their abundance of resources and expertise to the 2017 ESSENCE Festival, where attendees will have the opportunity to receive valuable information about establishing, running and expanding successful businesses from key players across multiple industries.
"African American women are starting businesses at a phenomenal rate. MBDA believes the future of the U.S. economy is tied to their ability to grow their businesses and create jobs for all Americans,” said Edith J. McCloud, Acting National Director, Minority Business Development Agency. “Our partnership with ESSENCE will ensure that their audience of 21.2 million know that the U.S. Department of Commerce is invested in their success.”
On a broader scale, the MBDA will join overall ESSENCE efforts to encourage an increased presence of Black women in the entrepreneurship field through their support of ESSENCE events and conferences related to domestic and international business development efforts. as well as actively engage in its role on the ESSENCE Entrepreneurial Advisory Council by recommending committee members and actively participating in committee meetings to develop business programming. Both partners will also work collaboratively to identify potential research studies that focus on minority women-owned businesses.
