Group held a joint MWBE Workshop in New York

(BPRW) Queens, New York – On December 3, 2016 the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. and Queens Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (KAPsi) collaborated to offer a Minority/Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) workshop as a component of KAPsi's Entrepreneurial Workshop Series.  Each organization promoted the program well and were satisfied with the enthusiastic response and attendance.

The workshop, “Growing Your Business with an MWBE Certification," was a complete success. The event was held at the KAPsi headquarters in Queens, New York.  Networking among the business owners continue after the workshop. Both organizations look forward to future opportunities for collaboration.

LIAACC's MWBE Lead Educator, Charlene Thompson, Esq. supported by LIAACC'S MWBE Queens Regional Coordinator and trainer Winnie Benjamin, did a fantastic job covering the following topics in depth:

·         What is MWBE Certification?

·         Am I eligible to apply?

·         What are the benefits of Certification?

·         What is the Certification process?

·          Am I ready to do business with the Government?

There were forty attendees consisting of business owners and those considering starting a business. New York State Assemblyman Clyde Vanel, a strong advocate for small business owners, joined us for the networking portion of the program.  Attendees showed excitement for the program and many plan to pursue becoming certified. Several also expressed interest in LIAACC membership.  Winnie Benjamin will continue to develop relationships with attendees and support efforts to grow their business with certification and government contracting.

“Joint collaboration between organizations such as the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. and KAPsi is vital to our communities’ economic future.  LIAACC looks forward to developing a long term relationship with quality groups in our community who are setting a high bar for what we can achieve through joint partnerships”. Phil Andrews, President, Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

Charlene J. Thompson, Esq. of Thompson Economic Development Services, LLC is the Chair of Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.'s MWBE Committee.  Erna Blackman serves as the Queens County Director of LIAACC.

The program was supported by the US Black Chambers, Inc. through a grant funded by Wells Fargo.

For more information on the programs and activities of the Long Island African American chamber of Commerce, Inc. log on to our website at http://www.liaacc.org.  To join the chamber today log on to http://liaacc.org/blog/join-liaacc/#join today!