Irvine Summit Covers Financing For African-American Businesses
By CANDICE BAKER
The African-American Business Summit is set to kick off a three-day event this week focusing on “Real Solutions for Real Business: Capital, Contracts, Technology.”
The summit is set to be held June 13-15 at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine.
In its fifth year, the summit is hosted by Los Angeles-based Turning Point Communications and its foundation that supports the growth and development of African American businesses. Other sponsors are 100 Black Men of Orange County and the city of Irvine.
The business-to-business conference is considered the largest for African-American entrepreneurs in the West and is geared towards entrepreneurs whose businesses have been in operation for two years or more.
The summit, which features workshops, speakers and networking events, will focus on three major issues: capital, contracts and technology.
Its organizers aim to give “real” information, rather than ‘talking heads spouting theory,” according to a release.
Workshops include: “Fundamentals of Credit and Borrowing,” “Alternative Financing Resources” and “Venture Capital for Small Business.”
A seminar on the request for proposal process required by government agencies also is scheduled. Industry leaders and government agencies are set to illustrate and explain technological advances.
Participants for a workshop “How to Get Money for Your Business” include the University of Southern California Business Expansion Network, Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America and Union Bank of California. Topics are the fundamentals of credit and borrowing, alternative financing resources, how to finance contracts and how to attract investors.
Howard Krisvoy, business analyst for the USC Business Expansion Network, will lead the workshop. “We’re going to simply show both established and emerging businesses how to obtain financing and where to find it, as well as demystify the entire process,” Krisvoy said.
Summit speakers include former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, who is chairman of the conference, and Carol H. Williams, chief executive of Oakland-based Carol H. Williams Advertising.
Jackson is heralded as a pioneer in urban economic development. Co-founder of the National Association of Securities Professionals, he currently serves as president of Jackson Securities, an Atlanta-based investment-banking firm.
Williams’ agency has worked with companies such as Procter & Gamble Co., General Motors Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., and was responsible for the popular “Strong Enough for a Man But Made for a Woman” campaign for Procter & Gamble’s Secret antiperspirant.
