Delaware’s Black Chamber of Commerce launched a program to help biz owners expand

The Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce (DEBCC), recently founded by Middletown-based consultant Ayanna Khan, has launched a new program for small business owners.

EnrichDelaware! is a partnership with the national nonprofit Interise that uses its StreetWise MBA curriculum to train participants to create their own three-year strategic growth plans. The program includes interactive classes and peer mentoring and will be conducted over 13 instructor-led classes between June and December 2021.

“Addressing barriers to minority business growth and empowering minority business owners to add focus to working on their businesses, obtaining training and resources, and advancing the small business economic footprint is our passion here at the DEBCC,” Khan said in a statement. “By providing these much-needed services, EnrichDelaware! will not only strengthen the minority business community, but Delaware’s business sector at large. We are so thrilled to be bringing this program to Delaware.”

Boston-based Interise has a mission to build an inclusive economy by supporting small businesses in low-income and minority communities. The org is currently seeking to fill the position of StreetWise MBA instructor in Delaware.

“We are proud to partner with Delaware’s Black Chamber of Commerce and to bring the networks, knowledge, and know-how of our programming to the business community,” Interise CEO Darrell Byers said. “Like the rest of the country, Delaware’s small businesses have suffered even more this past year, and the percentage of Black-owned small businesses that have closed their doors has been much higher than the average. Supporting small businesses for local job and wealth creation — that is both Delaware’s and our nation’s best small business recovery strategy.”

EnrichDelaware! was also made possible by partnerships with Wilmington Alliance and Cornerstone West CDC, two of Wilmington’s economic development organizations. Wilmington Alliance has also supported the newly launched Wilmington Kitchen Collective, as well as Technical.ly’s Seeking Equity in Wilmington reporting series on what’s working — and what isn’t — in supporting Black and Latinx founders.