NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Jonnel Doris announced this week Juneteenth events that the City will begin hosting this month to support Black-owned businesses.
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, honors the self-determination of the federal troops that arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and their commitment to ensuring freedom reached all enslaved Black people. This was achieved after two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Five Boro Black Business Forum: The Future Starts Here, is a first-of-its-kind virtual event designed to help the City’s Black-owned businesses convene, network, and connect to available City, State, and Federal resources to support and scale their businesses during the City’s economic recovery.
The Forum seeks to address the four pillars of strategic focus for Black Entrepreneurs NYC (BE NYC) through a series of virtual discussions and informational sessions that address the following needs:
– Providing equitable access to capital: Programming featuring small business lenders, who will discuss lending opportunities for small businesses during their recovery from the pandemic.
– Strengthening connections within NYC’s Black entrepreneurial community: Opportunities for Black-owned businesses to network and share best practices for marketing and conducting business.
– Scaling Black businesses for long-term success: Providing information and resources about the City’s M/WBE certification and procurement processes.
– Meeting challenges of the economy of tomorrow: Connecting Black entrepreneurs interested in high-growth and high-priority industries with policymakers and thought leaders in NYC.
The Five Boro Black Business Forum: The Future Starts Here will take place on Friday, June 25th from 1-4 pm. Confirmed speakers and panelists include Deputy Mayor J. Phillip Thompson, SBS Commissioner Jonnel Doris, and Michael T. Pugh, CEO, and President of Carver Federal Savings Bank.
For more information on the Forum and to sign up, visit https://bit.ly/3cMSWTJ
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