Greenville Chamber recruiting small business owners for 2022 Minority Business Accelerator
November 8, 2021
Applications are now open for the Greenville Chamber’s 2022 Upstate Minority Business Accelerator (MBA) program.
The Minority Business Accelerator supports and scales high-potential minority-owned firms by providing targeted training, access to business coaches, and access to large corporations. Participants undergo intensive training for the first six months following the internationally-recognized Interise StreetWise ‘MBA’ curriculum, then work closely with financial experts, coaches and MBA peers on their three-year Strategic Growth Action Plans and implementation of learnings for the last six months.
In September, it was announced that a $500,000 grant from Bank of America would expand the Minority Business Accelerator to the Midlands and Lowcountry markets. The program that has been led by the Greenville Chamber since 2012 will be replicated in the Columbia and Charleston markets, led by their respective Chambers of Commerce.
The Greenville Chamber will host a virtual information session for Upstate businesses on November 5th.
The Entrepreneurial Pathways program was developed in partnership with South Carolina Small Business Development Center (SC SBDC) to provide specialized training for those organizations that do not yet qualify for the MBA program. All businesses who apply for the MBA program are automatically vetted for Entrepreneurial Pathways. This feeder program complements and prepares small business owners for future success and training opportunities like the MBA.
To qualify for the MBA program, businesses must be based in the Upstate, socially or economically disadvantaged (minority, veteran or woman-owned, as well as those serving lower-income communities), and a member of the Greenville Chamber. Ideal candidates generate between $250,000 to $10 million in annual revenue, have at least one other full-time employee and have been in business for more than three years.
The 2021 class will kick off their program in January.
The MBA program is one of only six in the nation offered by Chambers of Commerce. Since its inception, the program has graduated more than 110 participants, created 250 new full-time jobs, and participants have seen a combined $26 million in new revenue.
Learn more at www.greenvillechamber.org/mba.
