Greenville Chamber’s Minority Business Accelerator program for the Upstate recently kicked off, welcoming 10 new business owners to the class.

The South Carolina Minority Business Accelerator program, powered by Bank of America, supports and scales high-potential minority-owned firms statewide by providing targeted training, mentorship from business coaches, and access to large corporations.

2023 Upstate program participants include the following:

Elizabeth Bradley, Dance Without Limits

Timothy Cunningham, Wine & Design

Porscha Davis, The Salon by Porscha Danielle

Bernardo Dendy, MB&B Lawn Works

Spunette Hawkins, Innovation Counseling

Cherella Lee, Smallcakes Spartanburg

Celeste Purdie, Foot Solutions Greenville

Joanna Reese, Tangible Strategies

Paula Trujillo, El Carriel

Cortella Wilkes, Legacy Healthcare Advantage

These business leaders will spend the first six months of the program following the internally-recognized StreetWise ‘MBA’ curriculum led by instructor Wendell Jones. During the final six months, participants work closely with financial experts, coaches and MBA peers to develop and implement their three-year Strategic Growth Action Plans.

Minority Business Accelerator programs also kicked off earlier this year in the Midlands and Lowcountry markets. In September 2021, Bank of America awarded a $500,000 grant to expand access to the program across South Carolina. The statewide initiative launched in January 2022 and graduated 34 individuals.

“Bank of America welcomes the 2023 Minority Business Accelerator participants, and we continue to uplift this partnership as one of the ways our region and state demonstrates leadership in supporting minority-owned businesses,” said Stacy Brandon, President, Bank of America Upstate South Carolina. “We celebrated 10 successful years of this program with the Greenville Chamber last year and we know statewide expansion helps foster more inclusive economic development and job creation.”

Learn more here: https://www.greenvillechamber.org/mba