Tuesday, April 19, 2022

LI African-American Chamber Launches Free Counseling To Help LI, NYC Companies Qualify For Funding

Long Island African-American Chamber Launches Free Counseling to Help LI, NYC Companies Qualify for Funding
LIAACC President Phil Andrews


Many small businesses owned by African-Americans and companies in general face difficulties getting  loans, despite strong sales. They may face paperwork problems, insufficient accounts, lack of data, liens, unpaid debts or have owners with credit trouble. As a result, a good company may do badly when it comes to getting financing even from a willing lender. Now there’s a new source of help in overcoming these obstacles for minority-owned and other businesses seeking funding.


The Long Island African-American Chamber of Commerce (LIAACC) has used a portion of a grant to help small business owners to hire TMI & Partners, led by Alvin Hartley, to provide free counseling and assistance to African-American owned and other businesses in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens and Brooklyn to obtain funding

The idea is to give them the help they need to resolve issues and bridge the funding gap that too often stands between small businesses and the funds they need to launch, survive and grow.

Monday, April 18, 2022

BOSS NETWORK FOUNDER CAMEKA SMITH INVESTS $350K IN FUNDING AND MENTORSHIP FOR 35 BLACK WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Cameka Smith, the award-winning entrepreneur and founder of The Boss Network, an online community of professional and entrepreneurial women, has announced the 35 awardees of the 2022 Sage Invest in Progress grants to support Black women entrepreneurs in their first five years of business. Each of them will receive $10K in funding and a year-long mentorship.

The Sage Invest in Progress grant is a three-year, $1.5 million commitment by Sage (via the Sage Foundation) to support the newly announced BOSS Impact Fund, which is focused on investing in Black women-led businesses and preparing entrepreneurs to build scalable, growth aggressive companies. The goal of the BOSS Impact Fund is to raise investment funding for 500+ black women entrepreneurs over the next three years.

Initially scoped to award 25 grants, the overwhelming response of more than 12,500 applicants nationwide encouraged Sage and The BOSS Network to expand the program with 10 additional grants in the Sage Invest in Progress program. These 35 awardees represent entrepreneurs from around the country and in various industries, including Beauty & Self-Care, Consumer Goods, Professional Services, Healthcare/Wellness, and Food and Beverage.