Each year, the President of the United States proclaims a National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week to formally recognize minority-owned businesses for their professional achievements and their contributions to the Nation’s economy.
The National MED Week Conference, hosted by the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), is the largest federally sponsored event held to spotlight minority business development. This hallmark event brings together nearly 2,000 minority-owned businesses from across the country to participate in a series of educational, training, and business to business matchmaking events designed to help grow and thrive in a continually changing economy.
The 28th Annual National MED Week Conference is being held from August 23-27, 2010, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
In President Obama’s State of the Union Address on January 27, 2010, he announced the National Export Initiative (NEI) with a goal of doubling exports over the next five years, an increase that will support two million American jobs.
Building upon this major initiative, this year’s MED Week Conference is themed, “Strategies for Growth and Competitiveness in the Global Economy.”
Participants will be engaged in forums and workshops geared toward assisting them access the global marketplace. Additionally conference participants will have the opportunity to meet with embassy leaders from Latin America, South Africa and China at evening networking events intended to assist them in doing business in these emerging markets.
Minority-owned businesses have the potential to have a major impact in the global marketplace as they are twice as likely to generate sales through exports as non-minority firms. More than 70 percent of the world’s purchasing power and 95 percent of its population is beyond US borders. With their ability to break down cultural and linguistic barriers, minority-owned firms can lead the way to tapping global markets and aid in reducing the U.S. trade deficit. By attending the MED Week Conference, these firms will be equipped with the tools and the connections necessary to realize their economic potential globally.
For more information on MED Week or to register for the conference, go to www.medweek.gov.
