February 15, 2019

The Busch School of Business, in partnership with the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), will host an informational breakfast for local business and community leaders on Tuesday, February 5th 2019 to kick off the second local cohort of the innovative Inner City Capital Connections program (ICCC).

The Busch School of Business is proud once again to bring the Inner City Capital Connections program to Washington DC, to position inner-city businesses for long-term success. More than 100 local businesses took part in the successful 2017 program. The breakfast will gather local leaders to learn more about the program and the simple way they can help invite local businesses to the new cohort, which will begin in September, 2019.

Catholic University President John Garvey will welcome guests to the breakfast. He will be joined by ICIC Chairman Steve Grossman and members of the Busch School of Business' Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship, which runs the program. Guests will hear as well from Ronette Meyers, Founder of JLAN Solutions, a 2017 ICCC graduate. “It was a good feeling to have a community of business owners and entrepreneurs in the DC area that I could talk to,” Ms. Meyers says of her experience. She will share how participation in the ICCC helped her identify her “points of failure” and learn how to overcome them.

ICCC is designed for busy executives of all expertise levels, and its impact is proven to strengthen businesses and the inner-city communities where they operate. The 40-hour executive education program spans several months to accommodate demanding schedules. Participants develop custom solutions for their businesses during individual and group coaching sessions, and gain a new network of peers, mentors and capital providers.

The Busch School of Business, the first business school to partner with ICIC, hosts the ICCC program, and provides select participants with the additional opportunity to work with faculty coaches and to benefit from talented Busch School student interns, who receive hands-on education while tackling business challenges in real time – all while helping to build community within the local business ecosystem. By ensuring the success of its alumni, ICCC promotes sustainable business growth in underserved communities. It helps bridge the gap for 75% of inner-city businesses that are in need of capital, but that cite lack of knowledge and relationships as key barriers to obtaining it. Since its launch in 2005, ICCC alumni have created almost 20,000 jobs and have raised $1.9 billion in capital.