Nothing is more exciting to the Operation HOPE family than the transformation and development of our clients and program participants. Needless to say we are enjoying watching members of the 1 Million Black Businesses (1MBB) community launch and grow their small business ventures! Every day we see new Black aspiring entrepreneurs join the program from across the country — some older, some younger — representing various industries and sectors. The one thing that they have in common, besides race, is an undying commitment to win and to improve their lives through their entrepreneurial dreams.

Program participants just wrapped up an exciting three-part learning series focused on capital, structure, and best practices for finances in business ownership. HOPE/1MBB partner, Aprio, hosted the workshops and the more than 1,000 registrations confirm that members of 1MBB are hungry for knowledge and are actively working to stand up strong, viable businesses with solid foundations on which they can build. Shopify will host next series of webinars with a focus on closing the digital divide for clients who need support understanding the mechanics of eCommerce and the fundamentals of the digital marketplace.

Operation HOPE has become one of the leading voices for the pursuing social justice through an economic lens. Proctor and Gamble (P&G) is seeking to make progress in this area and has named HOPE 1MBB Director and Senior Vice President of Innovation and Learning, Jessica Bergeron, the co-chair of the Access to Wealth subcommittee for the national Take on Race coalition. This subcommittee will focus on supplier diversity efforts to ensure that black-owned companies can be successfully matched to corporations who have made supplier diversity commitments.

To stay engaged with 1MBB and to help spread the word about this great program and our mission to stand up 1 million Black owned businesses by 2030, follow our new program pages on social media at @1MBB_2030 on Twitter and Instagram, and @1MBB2030 on Facebook.