The Enterprise Center Expands to Camden to Help Small NJ Minority Businesses
(From left to right) Michelle Harris, Mid-Atlantic Small Business Transportation Resource Center; Victoria Hosendorf, Executive Vice president, The Enterprise Center of New Jersey; Congressman Donald Norcross, 1st Legislative District, New Jersey; Della Clark, CEO, The Enterprise Center; Mayor Victor Carstarphen, City of Camden; Senator Cory Booker; and Gene Waddy, President and CEO, Alpha Business Solutions.
AC JosepH Media
CAMDEN — The Enterprise Center on Monday hosted a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially launch its expansion into New Jersey.
The Philadelphia-based nonprofit has secured contracts to create two distinct entities: the New Jersey Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center and the Camden Cares Business Center.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker led the ribbon-cutting ceremonies, alongside U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen, other elected officials and community members. The new facility will provide business development services to a wide variety of entrepreneurs and small businesses, both locally in Camden and throughout the state of New Jersey.
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“I am proud to lead The Enterprise Center’s expansion into New Jersey,” said Victoria Hosendorf, executive vice president of The Enterprise Center. “Through the New Jersey MBDA Business Center and Camden Cares Business Center, we have an opportunity to build upon our mission of cultivating and investing in minority entrepreneurs at a critical time when so many are struggling to recover from the pandemic and years of economic hardships. We look forward to working with and for our community here in Camden and beyond.”
Funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce and operated by The Enterprise Center, the New Jersey MBDA Business Center provides minority-owned businesses with various services to help grow their businesses and increase their capacity.
Based in Camden, the Center’s business advisors offer qualifying firms throughout the entire state of New Jersey access to capital and financial management, business consulting, contracts and markets, and global business development opportunities. The Enterprise Center has been operating an MBDA Business Center in Pennsylvania since 2004.
The Enterprise Center of New Jersey will also house the new Camden Cares Business Center, with funding from the CARES Act. This program will provide technical assistance, training services, and funding application support to COVID-impacted businesses in Camden.
Clients will participate in intake assessments to determine whether they enter a COVID Recovery or Post-Recovery service delivery track. The program will prioritize Camden-based businesses as subcontractors for training programs, such as COVID compliance and marketing.
“The devastating economic effects of this pandemic have disproportionately impacted minority small businesses across America, with nearly half of Black and one-third of Latino small businesses being forced to shut down – some permanently,” Booker said.
“However, we know that minority businesses and entrepreneurs were struggling even before the pandemic, and historic inequities and barriers were merely exacerbated by this crisis. That is why I’ve fought to make the MBDA permanent and fought to open the first Minority Business Center here in New Jersey so that our residents don’t have to travel out of state to access these services. As it launches today, I know that The Enterprise Center will offer critical resources and assistance to our state’s Black and Brown small businesses for years to come,” he continued.
For more information on The Enterprise Center of New Jersey and New Jersey MBDA, check out their website.
About The Enterprise Center: The Enterprise Center was established in 1989 by David Thornburgh and Larry Bell, and is carried on today by President & CEO Della Clark. The Enterprise Center has a rich and diverse practice supporting minority entrepreneurs and under-resourced communities spanning more than three decades. Clients and partners trust The Enterprise Center to advise and deliver on transformative economic development connected to minority business growth cycles and community wealth-building initiatives.
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