On Friday, October 28, 2011, at the Doubletree by Hilton Orlando at Sea World, there was intense networking, and an informative panel discussion hosted by the Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF). The event entitled Central Florida Black Business Day was held in partnership with the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida, Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce of Florida, Central Florida Urban League, Central and North Florida Minority Supplier Development Council, and the NAACP Orlando Chapter.
Inez Long President/CEO of BBIF discussed the significance of the event and the bringing together of the different partners to make a successful business relationship. “The forum here today will help business people understand the importance of dialogue between businesses, elected officials, and the MBE officials. If a minority business person is going to be successful, they must develop the proper relationship with elected officials and minority business development officials,” says Ms. Long.
The event was well attended by the minority business community, and for over three hours the elected officials and MBE officials discussed how they can help improve their relationships with minority businesses. Many of the minority businesses do not understand how to navigate through the maze of information and paperwork to apply for a major contract.
“The significance of bringing the different groups together was to strategically plan. The elected officials can hear from the businesses what the real affects their policies are having on their businesses, and the policy implementers need to explain to the businesses the perimeters of what they can actually do to help their businesses be successful, said Ms. Long.
This was the first time that all the major community organizations in Central Florida collaborated to develop a consensus on what needs to be done to strategically create a plan. There are tremendous opportunities in the minority community for major contracts. The Central Florida Black Business Day forum was a phenomenal starting point for the different organizations to come together to support our community and support each other. The BBIF team is now in the process of putting together a white paper that noting the key issues that were raised during the forum.
BBIF is a non-traditional lender that specializes in providing loans for minority and small businesses. In addition, the BBIF assists businesses in building their management capability through financial technical assistance services. For more information on BBIF contact:
Jasmine Houston
Communications Officer
Black Business Investment Fund
Phone: 407-649-4780
Website: www.bbif.com
