Black business association to launch platform, connect businesses with funds, resources
Evan James CarterWashington, D.C — The country's largest professional association for black-owned businesses is hoping to provide a digital toolkit to businesses navigating the coronavirus pandemic.
The National Business League is set to launch on April 27 a new technology platform on its redesigned website and mobile app which, the organization said in a release, will bring its operations online and allow for live streaming, on-demand virtual education and training among other services for businesses.
Kenneth Harris, President and CEO of the National Business League, which has 4,200 members and a regional office in Detroit, believes the new platform will help to virtually connect businesses with financial resources and stimulus funds in the midst of the pandemic.
“Due to the severity of the coronavirus impact on Black-owned businesses, the NBL and technology investors developed the leagues (sic) digital solutions platform to assist the federal government, major corporations, and traditional lenders to ensure resources and opportunities reach underserved small businesses in America,” Harris said.
The platform is the culmination of a $1.8 million investment, with Computech CXL, a minority-owned information technology firm, leading the group of technology firms building the new digital services.
The NBL says its platform will provide assistance for entrepreneurs who are "inadvertently being affected by the digital divide in America."
Twitter: @EvanJamesCarter