{"id":2593644,"date":"2022-04-13T13:04:51","date_gmt":"2022-04-13T18:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worldbusinesschicago.com\/?p=2593644"},"modified":"2025-06-26T09:18:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:18:33","slug":"world-business-chicago-launches-black-and-latino-excellence-investment-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbusinesschicago.com\/world-business-chicago-launches-black-and-latino-excellence-investment-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"World Business Chicago Launches Black and Latino Excellence Investment Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>World Business Chicago Launches *new* Access to Capital Program <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>for Black &amp; Latino Business Owners &amp; Entrepreneurs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><u>in Chicago: <em>Black &amp; Latino Excellence Investment Summit 2022<\/em><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(CHICAGO) \u2013 April 13, 2022 &#8212; World Business Chicago, the city\u2019s private-public economic development agency, today announces a pilot program to connect small, minority-owned businesses on the South and West-Sides of Chicago with technical assistance and funding opportunities. Led by the agency\u2019s Community Impact Team, the <strong>Black &amp; Latino Excellence Investment Summit<\/strong> is a multi-phased effort that provides counsel, connections to technical assistance, and ultimately, access to capital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMinority-owned businesses have greater challenges navigating the process to secure capital,\u201d said LaForce Baker, Vice President, Community Impact, World Business Chicago. \u201cThis new program is intended to empower Black and Latino businesses-owners by connecting them directly to technical assistance and sources of capital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Active program participants comprise 15 locally-based business-owners in the retail and professional service spaces, like Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Centers looking to expand in Chicago\u2019s South and West neighborhoods. \u201cAs an African American Woman, I feel that I do not have the same access to capital as most traditional businesses,\u201d said Wanda Lewis-Fullmer, co-owner, Auto-Lab Complete Car Care Centers. \u201cI am excited to partner with World Business Chicago in driving inclusive economic development throughout the city, ensuring we all have access to realizing the proverbial American Dream of business ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In order to be eligible small businesses must be for-profit, Chicago-based, and meet the following criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Operate in the retail, light manufacturing and\/or professional services industries;<\/li>\n<li>Over $250,000 in annual revenue;<\/li>\n<li>Minimum of three years in business; and,<\/li>\n<li>Have identified clear growth and development opportunities requiring capital investment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cWe are excited to participate in this Summit because of the opportunities it provides for us to really interact with participating entrepreneurs, to understand their ambitions, and to work with them to craft the best financing solutions to move them from there they are to where they want to be,\u201d said Cheryl Wilson, Managing Director, CIBC US. \u201cWe recognize the critical role these small businesses play in their local communities and are pleased to sponsor the Summit to help them gain access to the insights and resources they need to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The program consists of three phases:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Screenings of interested businesses and entrepreneurs (which occurred in March);<\/li>\n<li>One-on-one consulting sessions with technical assistance, business advisors and funders underway now through May;<\/li>\n<li>In-person event on June 16, 2022, when capital commitments will be formally announced and celebrated. Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbusinesschicago.com\/investmentsummit\">www.worldbusinesschicago.com\/investmentsummit<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\u201cAccess to capital, technical assistance, and strategic public-private partnerships, such as the Black Latino Excellence Investment Summit, provide minority-owned businesses valuable resources to scale and grow,\u201d said SomerCor CEO, Manuel Flores. \u201cWe look forward to collaborating with World Business Chicago and other organizations to help build and fulfill the entrepreneurial dream for Black and Latino small businesses on the South and West-Sides.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Presenting sponsors are CIBC and SomerCor; supporting sponsors include Founders First, JPMorgan Chase and Wintrust Financial.<\/p>\n<p><strong># # #<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>About World Business Chicago &amp; its Community Impact Team<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>World Business Chicago (WBC) serves a critical role in driving inclusive and equitable recovery throughout the city\u2019s 77-neighborhoods. As the city\u2019s economic development agency, World Business Chicago leads business acquisition, workforce and talent, community impact and equity, support of our business community and promotion of Chicago as a leading global city. Most recently Site Selection magazine awarded Chicago with the distinction as the No. #1 Top Metro, for the ninth consecutive year, for business expansion and relocation, as covered by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/chicago\/inno\/stories\/news\/2022\/03\/01\/chicago-corporate-expansions.html\">Chicago Inno<\/a>.\u00a0 The WBC Community Impact Team supports equitable economic growth through strategies delineated in Chicago\u2019s Recovery Task Force, including the main initiative, INVEST South\/West. The Black &amp; Latino Excellence Investment Summit is designed to be an opportunity for Black and Latino business owners to work alongside the City of Chicago and key partners, participating in collective efforts to revitalize our city\u2019s South and West Side neighborhoods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>World Business Chicago Launches *new* Access to Capital Program for Black &amp; Latino Business Owners &amp; Entrepreneurs in Chicago: Black &amp; Latino Excellence Investment Summit 2022 (CHICAGO) \u2013 April 13,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[178],"tags":[136],"class_list":["post-2593644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wbc-initiatives","tag-community-impact"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>World Business Chicago Launches Black and Latino Excellence Investment Summit | World Business Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbusinesschicago.com\/world-business-chicago-launches-black-and-latino-excellence-investment-summit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Business Chicago Launches Black and Latino Excellence Investment Summit | World Business Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"World Business Chicago Launches *new* Access to Capital Program for Black &amp; 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