Experts in Business Development, Politics to Headline NBIA Urban Entrepreneurship Event

January 15, 2002

Contact:
Linda Knopp, PR Specialist
740-593-4331; lknopp@nbia.org

ATHENS, Ohio—Political leaders and business development experts will be among the speakers at a Feb. 10-11 conference designed to help urban communities encourage entrepreneurship, the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) announced today.

Headquartered at Philadelphia's Sheraton Society Hill Hotel, The New American City: Making Entrepreneurship an Urban Priority will highlight various models of urban business incubation programs. The conference is a collaborative effort between NBIA, The Enterprise Center of Philadelphia and Seedco.

"Business incubators can act as entrepreneurial engines that drive economic growth within urban neighborhoods," said Dinah Adkins, NBIA president and CEO. "The New American City is designed to show attendees how to best use their resources to create programs that can bring sustained wealth generation, community stability and individual opportunity to their cities."

Ronald Langston, director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency, and David Wilhelm, president of Wilhelm and Conlon Public Strategies, will give keynote presentations on minority entrepreneurship and methods for building political coalitions. Wilhelm, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, managed the 1992 Clinton/Gore national presidential campaign.

Business development experts from The Enterprise Center, San Francisco's Renaissance Center and the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation will describe how to design an effective urban incubation program. Community and economic development professionals will show attendees how to identify partners and entrepreneurs in their community.

Throughout the conference, professional facilitators will help participants develop blueprints for business incubation in their communities, including plans for identifying a mission, raising money, recruiting clients and finding an appropriate facility.

Attendees also will have the opportunity to tour The Enterprise Center, an award-winning urban incubation program located in the former home of American Bandstand.

Business incubators help emerging businesses survive the risky start-up phase by providing an array of business support services, such as flexible leases and on-site business counseling. The goal of these programs is to graduate successful firms that create jobs and build wealth in their communities. Since 1980, incubator clients have created more than half a million jobs in North America.

For more information on The New American City or to register online, visit http://www.nbia.org/conf/nac_2002. The deadline for early-bird registration is Jan. 21.

The National Business Incubation Association advances the business incubation process to increase entrepreneurial success and individual opportunity, strengthening communities worldwide. NBIA provides thousands of professionals with information, education, advocacy and networking resources to bring excellence to the process of assisting early-stage companies.

The Enterprise Center recruits and develops entrepreneurial talent through in-house programs and outreach activities. Recently named "Incubator of the Year" by NBIA, The Enterprise Center serves thousands of urban residents in what was once a severely distressed community.

Seedco promotes community development by facilitating meaningful relationships between anchor institutions and community-based organizations. Seedco has pioneered partnerships between 105 institutions and 90 community-based organizations in 58 cities and towns.