Organizers of the Black Women’s Expo are presenting an innovative way to help businesses.
The expo will host its new brunch and business panel event, Bagels and Bosses, in Chicago, Illinois, on April 22, in addition to awarding a business owner with the first $2,500 BWe NEXT PowHer Business Grant.
According to ABC7 Chicago, Merry Green, president of MGPG Events and creator of the Black Women’s Expo, curated the event to expand on the years of hosting the Black Women’s Expo.
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“It’s a smaller event, much smaller, but it’s something we’ve been asked to do,” Green said. “It’s going to be around food and hospitality.”
“We have some incredible women that will be a part of this discussion,” she added.
The BWe website listed panelists as Chrishon Lampley, founder of LCS Entertainment and Love Cork Screw wines; Jackie Jackson, owner of Kilwins Chicago & Fatburger-Buffalo Express; Bridgette Flagg, head cook and owner at Soule Chicago; Yasmin Curtis, founder of Two Fish Crab Shack CO; Lauran Smith, founder of Chicago Black Restaurant Week; and Vanetta Roy, owner of Surfs Up Chicago.
The $2,500 award will also come with coaching sessions for the prize winner. “I wanted to do something…to help small businesses,” said Green.
Green shared that she started a nonprofit nearly a year ago to help small businesses through the Black entrepreneurial fund. As a small business owner herself, she relates closely to the women who attend the expo.
“I know what many of our exhibitors at the expo go through, we hear it every year, we watch them come to our show to be at our show, we make it affordable, so that they can be there, and so we wanted to do something with this grant.”
Every year, there will be funds added to the account to continue supporting small businesses, and Green is excited to see the organizations that apply.
The deadline to apply is Wednesday, April 12 at 11:59 p.m. The winner must be present at the Bagels and Brunch event that will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m at the Hyatt Regency.
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