The Greater Georgia Black Chamber Of Commerce Partners With Operation HOPE To Help Create 1 Million New Black Businesses By 2030
The Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce (GGBCC) is honored to announce its partnership with Operation HOPE’s national One Million Black Business Initiative (1MBB). This organizational alliance is made in furtherance of the mission to create 1 million Black-owned businesses by 2030. The Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce will contribute to the 1MBB initiative by dedicating its communications, consultative and networking resources to make the state of Georgia the leader in the number of Black-owned businesses created. Through the 1MBB partnership, GGBCC will engage and empower at least 1,000 aspiring entrepreneurs.
As the only Black chamber of commerce in Georgia with active connections and a service presence in all 159 counties, the GGBCC is uniquely positioned to drive enrollment in the 1MBB and establish a model that can be used across the country. The ability to engage the urban and rural communities with equal efficacy is a key to reaching the goal of creating an unprecedented number of Black-owned businesses in under a decade.
“When I established the GGBCC, the vision and values were all about building bridges and connecting people that could help grow strong and sustaining Black businesses. Partnering with Operation HOPE on the 1MBB initiative is a special opportunity for us to advance that vision even further and serve a purpose even greater than I imagined,” said Melinda Sylvester, President and CEO of the GGBCC. “Our executive leadership team is excited about helping to pave the way for national, foundational change, and having it start right here.”
1MBB launched in February 2021 and is largely funded through Shopify, the world’s second largest e-commerce platform. The movement is part of Operation HOPE’s broader mission to promote financial inclusion and dignity, aimed at empowering the underserved of America.
“Here at Operation HOPE, we know and understand the complexities of managing and sustaining a successful business,” said Operation HOPE Founder and CEO John Hope Bryant. “That’s why we have partnered with organizations like the Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce to make sure the Black business owners we are serving have access to all of the resources they need to be successful. We are helping to build Black businesses that will last and spark generational change.”
About The Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce
Founded in 2015, the Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce serves and supports Black businesses in all 159 counties of Georgia. The GGBCC has established constructive partnerships within the state and local government in its advocacy for the interests of its members. GGBCC members cross every major industry in the state and the chamber is an active presence in developing opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in emerging industries as well. Visit www.GGBCC.org.
About 1MBB
Launched in October 2020 with founding partner Shopify, 1MBB aims to remove traditional hurdles to Black entrepreneurship and encourage more aspiring Black business owners to start – and scale – by providing them with the tools, resources, and education needed to succeed. To level the playing field, 1MBB will focus on critical tools for business growth such as technology and resources, educational programs, and the opportunity to access capital. Through this program, Black business owners can sign up for Operation HOPE’s award-winning model of community uplift, financial literacy and education, with access to tailored tools and resources upon graduation. To learn more about 1MBB or to get your business started, visit HOPE1mbb.org.
About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: www.OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Media Contacts:
Lalohni Campbell, Operation HOPE
404-593-7145
la@persemediagroup.com
David Harris, Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce
404 207-6905
dharris@sspins.com
