The Busch School of Business and Economics to Host Kickoff Meeting on Feb. 28, 2017
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) The Catholic University of America and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) announced today a unique partnership to accelerate small business growth in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. As a part of this partnership, The Tim and Steph Busch School of Business and Economics will launch ICIC’s Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program for the first time in the D.C. area in 2017.
ICCC is a national program designed to help small businesses in economically-distressed areas build capacity for sustainable growth in revenue, profitability, and employment. The program achieves these goals by means of a comprehensive curriculum that combines targeted executive education sessions with local coaches/mentors, and then connects participants with potential capital sources and a broad professional network.
It is the country’s only program that educates inner-city small businesses about the various forms of capital and matches them with appropriate capital providers. Since 2005, small business participants have raised more than $1.4 billion in debt and equity capital and have created more than 12,000 jobs.
“This partnership with ICIC is part of a novel project we have been incubating in The Arthur and Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship to develop enterprise solutions to poverty,” said William Bowman, dean of The Busch School at Catholic University. “We are honored to have ICIC as a partner on this important opportunity for our local community and are eager to launch the ICCC program, which will engage our faculty members, students, and the Catholic University family.”
“The ICCC program continues to scale rapidly across the country, and we are proud to work with The Busch School to bring its benefits to small businesses in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area,” said Steve Grossman, CEO of ICIC. “This is our first partnership with an academic institution, and we believe it could become a transformational model for business schools in America’s urban communities.”
An informational kickoff meeting is scheduled for Feb. 28, 2017 at Catholic University. Leaders from throughout the D.C. area will be invited to attend and serve as nominating partners, which help identify qualified entrepreneurs to participate in the program. At the meeting, ICIC will present the program’s objectives, content, suggested small business candidate profile, nomination process, and the program’s track record of success. More information about the kickoff meeting and the program will be available in January.
For more information or to register for the kickoff event on February 28th, please contact:
Rebecca Teti, The Arthur and Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship
teti@cua.edu
Hyacinth Vassell, Director, ICCC, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
hvassell@icic.org
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About The Tim and Steph Busch School of Business and Economics
The Tim and Steph Busch School of Business and Economics at The Catholic University of America serves to provide thought-leading undergraduate and graduate level education and scholarship in business and economics informed by the Catholic social principles of human dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good. More information is available at business.cua.edu.
About Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
ICIC is a national nonprofit research and advisory organization founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter. ICIC's mission is to promote economic prosperity in America's inner cities through private sector investment that leads to jobs, income and wealth creation for local residents. The organization supports urban businesses through a wide variety of Urban Business Initiatives. More information about ICIC and its ICCC program is available at icic.org and icic.org/inner-city-capital-connections/.
MEDIA: To schedule an interview or attend the Feb. 28 event, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at cua-public-affairs@cua.edu or 202-319-5600.
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ABOUT: The Catholic University of America is the national university of the Catholic Church and the only higher education institution founded by the U.S. bishops. Established in 1887 as a papally chartered graduate and research center, the University comprises 12 schools and 22 research facilities and is home to 3,480 undergraduate and 3,041 graduate students.
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