Greenville Chamber recruiting for minority business accelerator

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Applications are open for the Greenville Chamber’s 2022 Upstate Minority Business Accelerator program.

The accelerator supports and scales high-potential minority-owned firms through targeted training, access to business coaches and access to large corporations. 

Participants undergo intensive training for the first six months following the Interise StreetWise “MBA” curriculum, then work closely with financial experts, coaches and MBA peers on their three-year strategic growth action plans and implementation of what they learned during the previous six months, according to a news release.

The chamber will host a virtual information session for Upstate businesses on Nov. 5 and the class will kick off in January.

To qualify for the program, businesses must be based in the Upstate, socially or economically disadvantaged (minority, veteran or woman-owned, or those serving lower-income communities) and a Greenville Chamber member. Ideal candidates generate between $250,000 to $10 million in annual revenue, have at least one other full-time employee and have been in business for more than three years, according to the release.

The MBA program is one of only six in the nation offered by chambers of commerce. Since its inception, the program has graduated more than 110 participants, created 250 new full-time jobs and participants have seen a combined $26 million in new revenue.

Using a $500,000 grant from Bank of America in September, the program, launched in 2012 by the Greenville Chamber, will expand to the Midlands and Lowcountry markets through the Columbia and Charleston chambers of commerce.