CLICK HERE: Cultivate Community Focus Group: Fostering Black Collaboration

BRAND of St. Louis is hosting a focus group session in partnership with the Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce and the African Chamber of Commerce St. Louis to explore ways that community leaders, professionals, and entrepreneurs of African descent can collaborate more effectively.

We aim to explore factors supporting collaboration in communities of African descent through open conversations to understand core values, establish shared language, identify existing opportunities, and create models for sustainable, community-centered interventions.

We believe there is an opportunity for private and public organizations to play a stronger role in reducing economic disparities by designing solutions to create win/win partnerships within communities of African descent.

This event will expand upon our preliminary 2018 research in collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis Brown School of Social Work. Using community-based system dynamics, we have identified 20 major factors and 4 leading themes that impact collaborative relationships with St. Louis residents of African descent.

We plan to further evaluate those factors to understand (1) how the factors vary by immigration status, regional identity, or economic status, and (2) how economic development stakeholders may promote or hinder collaboration in communities where St. Louis residents of African descent live and conduct business.

Collaborative Partners:

The Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce (HSBCC) is a community-wide effort to attract, create, support and accelerate new and existing businesses within St. Louis. An integrated, systematic community ecosystem, HSBCC connects you with the resources necessary for you to succeed. It supports its members through advocacy, networking, economic development, business education and capacity building and aligns their efforts to make Greater St. Louis an attractive place for all to live, work and play. HSBCC aligns local black businesses around a common economic empowerment agenda that facilitates their individual and collective growth.

The African Chamber of Commerce St. Louis (ACCSTL) is a not-for-profit corporation which was founded in 2017 with the purpose of developing African Professionals and business owners in the St. Louis area. ACCSTL was founded by economic and community development professionals who saw opportunity in growing the St. Louis business environment through relationships and investments in Africa. ACCSTL objectives include creating contacts and business resource forums where information and ideas can be exchanged as well as advancing entrepreneurial and professional development among its members.

Sponsors:

The St. Louis African American Business Resource Group (AABRG) helps U.S. Bank foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture. The mission of the AABRG is to enrich and share the African American experience at U.S. Bank, and the community, by promoting self-fulfillment and excellence in alignment with four focus areas: business support, recruitment support, employee development, and community. The AABRG provides employees with the opportunity to network, learn, develop leadership skills, and contribute powerfully to the company and the communities where they live and work.

Wakava is an organic, health-conscious company taking traditional African products and innovating them for acceptance on an international forefront while retaining the innate health benefits.