Conduit Street Covers BGE Awarding $75,000 to AAEDC Inclusive Ventures Program, Fall Cohort Applications Opening
July 27, 2022
Conduit Street, the official blog of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), covered the news of BGE awarding a $75,000 grant to AAEDC to support its Inclusive Ventures Program (IVP) in the following article:
BGE Boosts Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation’s Inclusive Ventures Program
Read the full article, including commentary from County Executive Steuart Pittman and BGE President and CEO Carim Khouzami, along with a nod to BGE sponsoring the Taste of Maryland Reception at the 2022 MACo Summer Conference, here:
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman announced that BGE awarded a $75,000 grant to the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC) to support its Inclusive Ventures Program (IVP). IVP is a business education initiative that aims to help small and minority-owned, woman-owned, and Veteran-owned businesses in Anne Arundel County succeed and grow.
“I’m thrilled to announce that BGE is supporting the AAEDC Inclusive Ventures Program in such a major way,” said County Executive Pittman. “I’ve often said that I think IVP is one of the best things that Anne Arundel County has done in government for a long time, and I was proud to fund its expansion in our most recent budget based on its success. Thank you, BGE, for helping fund the future of IVP and, thereby, helping fuel the future growth of businesses and jobs throughout Anne Arundel County.”
Introduced by AAEDC in January 2021, IVP seeks to increase the business acumen of its participants and prepare them for their next stage of growth by offering a robust menu of resources, including business education and training, access to capital, and mentorship.
Upon graduation, each participant receives a $5,000 seed grant to serve as working capital for their business, continued mentoring for up to a year, and access to AAEDC’s financing programs. BGE’s $75,000 award will fund the seed grants of a future cohort.
According to a County press release:
“We’re excited to partner with Anne Arundel County on this forward-thinking program that is focused on inclusivity as it supports small businesses,” said BGE President and CEO, Carim Khouzami. “Seeing more than thirty entrepreneurs graduate from the program over the last two years shows that the program has a positive impact, and we’re proud to help make it possible for more business owners to receive the resources that will help them both grow their businesses and also strengthen their communities.”
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The program’s signature component is the Virtual Entrepreneurship Cohort and Seed Fund, which includes three-hour classes over the course of eight weeks. The sessions are led by business consultant Will Holmes, Founder of Will Holmes Consulting and a recruiter for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. Participants also have consultations with legal, human resources, and accounting experts. The last session is a pitch day/graduation, when each business owner presents his or her business growth plan to and responds to questions from a panel of expert judges, including potential investors.
Due to the personalized atmosphere of the program, each cohort is limited to 10-15 participants. Businesses must be located in Anne Arundel County and business owners must complete an application and interview to be considered for admission to the program. Preferred candidates are entrepreneurs whose businesses have been operating for at least two years with employees and revenue.
The application round for the Fall cohort, which will run from September 7 to October 26, will open on Wednesday, July 27 and close at 5pm on Tuesday August 2.
For more information on the program, visit the Inclusive Ventures Program page on the AAEDC website.
BGE sponsors this year’s Taste of Maryland Reception at the 2022 MACo Summer Conference. The event showcases everything Maryland has to offer — food and beverages from the shore to the mountains and everything in between — all produced in Maryland. Hundreds of conference participants will attend this session to sample locally produced food and beverages and learn more about Maryland’s tourism and agritourism industries.
The MACo Summer Conference is August 17-20, 2022, at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, Maryland. This year’s conference theme is “Taking Care of Business.”
BGE Awards $75,000 to Support Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation’s Inclusive Ventures Program »
