Week-long Slate of 35+ Events Celebrates Local Minority-owned Businesses

PHILADELPHIA (September 30, 2019) — On Monday, October 7, local government and business leaders will kick off the 35th Annual Philadelphia Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Every year, MED Week highlights minority businesses and connects them to resources that can help their firms grow. For one week, organizations from across the region will host various events focused around this year’s theme, Moving the Needle.

MED Week 2019, which runs Monday, October 7 through Friday, October 11, features more than 35 events around the city, including educational workshops, interactive panel discussions, one-on-one coaching, and more. The annual celebration of minority businesses is co-chaired by the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Commerce, The African-American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ & DE, The Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, The Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Minority Business Development Agency, and The Women’s Business Enterprise Center.

“The City of Philadelphia is committed to ensuring that all of our residents are provided the opportunity to succeed and thrive,” said Iola Harper, Deputy Commerce Director for the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO). “MED Week is a vital tool used to encourage economic equity in Philadelphia by having government and partner organizations come together to provide resources, training, tips, and connections to local minority businesses. We want these businesses to not only be aware of the opportunities available to help them grow, but also be prepared to take them on. Philadelphia’s continued economic growth depends on the success of all businesses.”

Some of this year’s 35+ MED Week events include:

• MED Week Kick-Off Breakfast and Open for Business Event (October 7):  Kick-off awards reception, honoring Black Professionals News Publisher Earl Harvey as the 2019 OEO Champion and Councilmember Blondell Reynolds Brown as the OEO Advocate of the Year. Julianne Malveaux, economist, author, Founder and President of Economic Education, and former President of Bennett College for Women, will serve as the keynote speaker. Following the reception, attendees can participate in the “Open for Business” expo, an event highlighting current and future contracting opportunities with the City of Philadelphia.
• Work with Rebuild! (October 7):  Attendees at this event will have a chance to meet the nonprofits applying to manage the next round of Rebuild projects, hear updates on Rebuild and the contracting process, learn about Rebuild Ready (a program to help prepare diverse businesses to compete for Rebuild contracts), and get information on becoming an official minority- or woman-owned business through Rebuild’s Emerging Vendors Program.
• Business Resources at Community College of Philadelphia: Education and Contracts (October 9):  This event will inform attendees about The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) program and will feature minority business owners who are 10KSB alumni discussing their time in the program, business experiences, and results.
• The Entrepreneurship Option (October 10):  Four Philadelphia-based entrepreneurs will share the experiences of their career paths and the resources they utilized to succeed. The panelists, who received grants from the Department of Commerce’s StartupPHL Venture Program, will discuss how people from disadvantaged backgrounds can find the resources needed to start and grow their business in Philadelphia.
• Everything You Need to Know About Doing Business in the City (October 11):  This event provides entrepreneurs with direct access to City Departments and technical business assistance partners, including: the Office of Business Services, Department of Licenses and Inspections, Department of Revenue, Health Department, Office of Economic Opportunity, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), and the Community College of Philadelphia’s Power Up Your Business Program.

For additional information, including event times and locations, as well as the full list of workshops and events, visit www.phila.gov/med-week.