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Minority Business Development Newsletter
- November
2008
Welcome from Aggo Akyea, Bureau
Director
Welcome to the first edition of the eNewsletter of the Bureau
of
Minority Business Development at the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.
I hope that you find the newsletter an informative update on the State
of Wisconsin activities toward Commerce minority business development and
growth.
Our aim is to send out this online newsletter on a bi-monthly basis to
advise you of future events, report on previous events and share
pertinent information on minority business development with you.
This newsletter is the fulfillment of one of our goals to stay in touch
with you, our client and partners. In this premier edition, we would
like you to meet our staff and provide you all the necessary contact
information for effective and communication with our Bureau.
It is your newsletter so any feedback or comments would be most welcome! I hope that you find our E-Newsletter to be
informative and enjoyable. If you have any suggestions for future
articles or for improvements, please let us know.
Any feedback on conferences attended, items of interest, publications
that you have found useful or problems that you may have encountered
are most welcome. Please forward them directly to comMBD@wisconsin.gov.
Marketplace 2008 Governor's Conference
Recognizing and promoting the achievements of Wisconsin
minority-owned business is the focus of Marketplace, the annual
Governor's Conference on Minority Business
Development.
This year marked the 27th anniversary of Marketplace, which was held on
October 1-2 at the Wyndham Hotel in Milwaukee.
Presented by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce and its Bureau of
Minority Business Development Program, Marketplace is the premier
minority business capacity building conference of the
year.
According to Aggo Akyea, Director of Bureau of Minority Development, the conference is an excellent opportunity for Minority
Business Entrepreneurs to network, identify and acquire capital, make
deals and advance professional development.
Participants at Marketplace had the opportunity to learn about small
business resource agencies; weigh the benefits of local, state, and
federal certifications; gather ideas to help with loan processes; meet
with members of the financial community including government supported
and commercial lenders, angel investors and investment bankers and had
great networking opportunities with minority vendors and
representatives from business and resource agencies.
This year, the Governor welcomed keynote speaker Mike Thompson,
president and CEO of Fair Oaks Farms, LLC, a Wisconsin-based supplier
of par-cooked sausage, bacon, and other meat
products. Mr.
Thompson is a veteran of the McDonald's system for over 20
years. He held various positions in supply chain
and
operations for McDonald's since 1984, including Region and V.P. of
North America Supply Chain. Under his leadership
Fair Oaks
Farm has been presented several industry awards such as the Department
of Commerce Export Supplier of the year. In 2007
Fair Oaks
Farm was nominated as one of the top manufacturers in the state of
Wisconsin.
View online
videos of the award reception and the morning and afternoon
general
sessions. View photos
from the event too.
Meet Our Commerce Team
Aggo
Akyea
Director
Aggo Akyea (pronounced: ah-CHAY-ah), is the
director of the
Bureau of Minority Business Development for the Wisconsin Department of
Commerce.
From 2006-2008, Aggo was the minority business enterprise program
manager at the Department of Transportation, providing consultation to
minority businesses in order to maximize their prime and subcontracting
opportunities within the department's state-funded purchasing and
construction projects. He served as marketing and certification
consultant for Commerce from 1991-2006, certifying
minority firms for participation in public sector contracts and
organizing and conducting the annual Marketplace Trade Fair.
From 1989-91, Aggo was assistant manager and federal procurement
specialist for the Small Business Procurement Assistance Center,
Madison, conducting market analysis and feasibility studies to identify
opportunities within the federal government for Wisconsin businesses.
He earned a Masters in Business Administration, Economics and Finance,
from St. John's University, New York , NY, 1983; a Graduate Diploma in
International Marketing and Management from the University of Delft ,
Delft, Holland; and a Bachelor of Arts, Economics and Sociology, from
the University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Seyoum
Mengesha
Area Development Manager
Seyoum Mengesha is an Area Development Manager with the
Bureau of Minority Business Development at Commerce. Seyoum certifies
minority owned companies through the Bureau's Minority Business
Enterprise (MBE) certification program and gives technical assistance
to minority businesses applying for assistance through a wide array of
business finance and tax credit programs at Commerce. Seyoum is the
former executive director of the Community Economic Development
Corporation in Racine. He has served on a number of state and local
boards and committees representing minority and women's concerns.
Seyoum was one of the 2006 recipients of Gateway Technical College 's
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. awards for his humanitarian work and
because of his dedication to living and carrying on the ideals of Dr.
King, Jr. He has earned The National Development Council's "Economic
Development Finance Professional" credential and Masters in Urban
Planning.
Tru
Mwololo
Area Development Manager
Truphosa "Tru" Mwololo is the new Area Development Manager
in Bureau of Minority Business Development at the Department of
Commerce. She joined the Bureau on April 14, 2008.
Prior to joining the Bureau, Tru worked in the Division of Investment
and Export as an executive staff assistant from 2006-2008, and the
Bureau of Minority Business Development from 2005-2006. She also has
banking experience with M&I Bank.
Tru received her BA degree in Economics from UW-Madison and MBA from
Edgewood College. Her two years at the United World Colleges of the
Atlantic, in Wales (UK), opened opportunities for travel, which led her
to travel extensively to Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Born in Kenya, Tru is conversational in Italian and Spanish, speaks
fluent English and Kiswahili, as well as four other languages from
Kenya. She is a member of the African Association of Madison (AAM),
International Professionals of Madison, Madison International Trade
Association (MITA) and a committee member of The Salvation Army Corp
Council (Dane County).
Kema Williams
Program Assistant
Kema Williams is the program assistant for the Bureau of Minority Business
Development Program and the logistic coordinator for the Marketplace
Governor's Conference. She received BAs in Legal EthicsStudies
and Women Studies from University of
Wisconsin-Madison. She also received an AA in Paralegal Studies from
the University of Maryland in Heidelberg, Germany. She is the owner of
IQ Real Estate Appraisal Company-a small appraisal firm domiciled in
Madison, WI. She serves as mentor to Real Estate Appraiser Trainees and
newly- licensed Real Estate Appraisers. She is a member of the Real Estate
Association and an Associate Member of the Appraisal Institute. She is
well-traveled and has traveled extensively through and lived in Germany,
Turkey, the Caribbean and several States in the US. She is an active
member of the Madison community and has served on several community
boards including: The Disproportionate Minority Confinement/Contacts
Board, and Dane County Time Bank Steering Committee Board.
Edgar
A. Chavez-Rios
Intern
Edgar A. Chavez-Rios joined the Bureau of Minority
Business Development as an LTE in June of 2008. He graduated in May of
2008 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor's degree
in International Relations and Political Economy. Although this is his
first professional position, Edgar has had a variety of part-time jobs
and leadership roles that have had involvement with the community,
particularly the Hispanic community. Throughout his college career, he
was involved in several student organizations and committees, including
the International Students Advisory Committee, and the Mexican Students
Association where he held the position of Treasurer and President.
During the summer of 2007, Edgar worked at the General Consulate of
Mexico in Chicago, assisting in social, political, cultural, and
business relations of the Consulate.
Jorge
Aviles
Intern
Jorge Aviles joined the bureau of minority business
development in June 2008 as an intern. He is currently studying at the
University of Wisconsin Madison, and will be completing his BS degree
in Economics May of 2009. Jorge also spent two years with The Urban
League for the Greater Madison Area as a math tutor and plans to stay
in Wisconsin upon graduation to continue work with the Bureau.
Bureau Visit to Main Street Milwaukee
In an effort to learn more about the needs of small businesses
and to
bring the State's business development programs right to the doors of
minority businesses, Aggo Akyea, Bureau Director, accompanied by staff
members Tru Mwololo, Kema Williams and Seyoum Mengesha were welcomed
in the Main Street Milwaukee (MSM) districts by MSM coordinating staff
and district managers in May 2008.
MSM is a multi-year, collaborative effort between the City of Milwaukee
Department of City Development and the Local Initiatives Support
Corporation (LISC) that provides financial and technical assistance to
designated organizations to help them organize stakeholders from their
respective neighborhoods to:
- Improve the appearance of the street and its
storefronts;
- Attract and manage public infrastructure
improvements;
- Generate new business development
- Identify sources of capital for private investment
and development within their targeted areas; and
- Organize promotional activities to attract
residents and highlight new business development. The Program uses
CommunityDevelopment Block Grant (CDBG) funds and matches it with
private and other public resources to leverage resources to provide
direct technical assistance to businesses that locate in these
designated neighborhood- MSM districts
The MSM program is based on the "Main Street Four Point
Approach"
® developed in 1980 by the National Trust for Historic
Preservation. The approach features the creation of four community
volunteer committees that concentrates their efforts on economic
development in local revitalization initiatives:
- Organization: Establishing consensus and
cooperation through partnerships among the various public and private
stakeholders in the commercial district.
- Design: Helping improve the physical appearance
and cohesiveness of a neighborhood business district by upgrading
storefronts, merchandise displays, signage, sidewalks and public spaces.
- Marketing and Promotion: Creating events,
entertainment, marketing materials and other activities to help attract
customers and investors.
- Economic Restructuring: Strengthening and
diversifying the commercial district's economic base by retaining and
expanding existing businesses, as well as attracting new ones that help
provide a balanced commercial mix.
Currently six districts are designated MSM districts: Silver
City,
SOHI, Lincoln Village, Burleigh, Martin Luther King and North Avenue
Gateway.
Akyea said, "With a corridor manager located in an office on the
street, this program makes limited resources go a long way by helping
businesses first identify the real need of their business and address
the need by providing a customized assistance."
Congratulations to our July, August, September &
October
Certifications:
Upcoming Events
Directory of Minority-Owned Firms
Commerce has replaced the printed directory of firms that have
been certified by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce with an online
directory that can be viewed and navigated in three ways:
Contract and Bid Opportunities
The Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) maintains a
Minority
Business Program Business Search which enables buyers to
access information on Wisconsin minority-owned firms by product,
service area, county, commodity code or ethnic category.
Minority Business News
News for Minority and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
firms
and stakeholders from the Department
of Transportation.
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