We invite you to “Helping New York's Minority- and Immigrant-Owned Businesses Compete in an Age of Online Shopping,” a Center for an Urban Future (CUF) policy symposium on Wednesday, March 2nd. This in-person forum, which is made possible with generous support from Verizon, will be held from 8:00am to 10:45am at The Greene Space (44 Charlton Street, at the corner of Varick Street). The event can also be viewed via livestream.

Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, strikingly few of New York City’s minority- and immigrant-owned small businesses had built up e-commerce capabilities and many had only just begun to adopt other technology and social media tools. Although some progress has been made during the past two years, much more is needed to ensure that these businesses are able to take advantage of growth opportunities—like tapping into the surge of New Yorkers whose online shopping habits have accelerated during the pandemic—and become more competitive and resilient. This forum will explore how policymakers can help to accelerate this progress and enable far more of New York’s minority- and immigrant-owned small businesses to succeed in the digital age. 

The event will put forth concrete ideas for city economic development officials, including strategies to help small retail and service businesses increase online sales and platforms that would make it easier for New Yorkers to purchase goods online from local retailers. And it will examine the vital role of community-based small business assistance providers in helping New York meet this challenge.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Commissioner Kevin Kim, NYC Department of Small Business Services
• Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, New York City Council; Chair, Committee on Technology 
• Council Member Julie Menin, New York City Council; Chair, Committee on Small Business
• Camille Newman, Director, Brooklyn Women's Business Center, LDC of East New York (LDCENY)
• Meredith Phillips Almeida, Director, NYC Small Business Resource Network
• Arva Rice, President & CEO, New York Urban League
• Valerie White, Executive Director, LISC NYC

Registration is required, both for the in-person event and for the livestream. 

To attend in-person, please RSVP via this link, https://tinyurl.com/2p8me76j 

To watch the livestream, please RSVP via this link, https://tinyurl.com/yckyfxcm

We are committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations in our programs. For questions or requests regarding access and accommodation, please contact Stephanie Arevalo at [email protected] at least 72 hours in advance of the program.

We look forward to you joining us!