Join MBDA at Pitch City: Minority Business Executive Institute

Over the past two years, New Orleans has gained recognition as a great place to live and work. It was voted #1 city for young entrepreneurs in America by Under30CEO.com, #1 metro area in the U.S. in Economic Recovery by the Brookings Institution, and #2 big city for jobs by Forbes. The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) via our local New Orleans business center is constantly seeking innovative and effective opportunities to support the city’s minority business enterprises (MBEs).  Whether it’s through collaborations with other federal agencies, state and local government or private corporation partnerships, MBDA plays a vital role in connecting MBEs to opportunities to expand and grow their organizations.

This week, in collaboration with Essence Festival, MBDA will host the Minority Business Executive Institute July 3-4, 2015 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA.  This event will be an intensive two day training course for 25 emerging minority entrepreneurs from the Gulf Coast Region. The training will focus on key elements for business growth and success.  Several successful CEOs and business owners will offer valuable insight on topics such as company branding, the importance of social media and knowing your competition. Essence Festival is one of the biggest African American gatherings in the country and MBDA’s partnership with Essence provides the perfect platform to provide training opportunities for minority entrepreneurs.

Over 700,000 minority-owned firms have contributed $128.5 billion to the economy in the Gulf Coast since 2007. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has taken on several initiatives such as ProsperityNOLA which will serve as a roadmap to diversify and strengthen the economy of New Orleans. MBDA’s renewed focus on youth entrepreneurship initiatives, STEM and providing Gulf Coast MBEs with resources for access to capital and market will greatly expand the opportunities to grow small businesses in the area. The minority Gulf Coast business community has shown tremendous resiliency in the wake of the horrendous natural and man-made tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill and MBDA is dedicated to ensure ongoing success.

For more information contact Demetria Gallagher, dgallagher@mbda.gov.