Black Chamber of Arizona launches third business accelerator program
The Black Chamber of Arizona is partnering with the Millionaire Mastermind Academy to kick off the third cohort of its Impact AZ 2025 business accelerator.
The program will start with a full-day …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Business
Black Chamber of Arizona launches third business accelerator program
Graduates of Impact AZ, the Black Chamber of Arizona's entrepreneurial program, have seen success in their businesses. (Black Chamber of Arizona)
Posted
Independent Newsmedia
The Black Chamber of Arizona is partnering with the Millionaire Mastermind Academy to kick off the third cohort of its Impact AZ business accelerator.
The 2025 program will start with a full-day launch event Tuesday, July 8, at the Better Business Bureau Innovation & Event Hub Center, 1010 E. Missouri Ave. in Phoenix.
The nine-month program is designed to help small business owners scale, build operational capacity and access supplier diversity opportunities. This year, 23 entrepreneurs will participate at no cost through $100,000 in scholarships funded by corporate sponsors.
Bank of America serves as the title sponsor for the 2025 cohort. Additional sponsors include Bell Bank, Cox Communications, Aventiv Technologies, Blue Cross Blue Shield, National Bank of Arizona and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
“It brings me great joy to continue this program and to thank Bank of America, our title sponsor, for making it possible,” said Dr. Velma Trayham, president and CEO of the Black Chamber of Arizona. “To see how quickly these entrepreneurs are growing — and to witness our alumni scaling their businesses — is phenomenal.”
The kickoff event, which runs 9 a.m.-3 p.m., will feature keynote speakers, networking, live media opportunities and a program overview for participants. Speakers include:
Christine Abdullah, senior vice president, preferred business, Bank of America
Eduardo Borquez, director of business engagement, Better Business Bureau
Shamia Lodge, director of community engagement, Aventiv Technologies
Ryan Garlington, senior manager, customer success, Cox Communications
Jay Gladney, certified mentor, SCORE Greater Phoenix Chapter
Diane Roberts, program manager, Impact AZ
Dr. Velma Trayham, president and CEO, Black Chamber of Arizona
The program offers more than 40 courses, one-on-one mentorship and access to a proprietary mobile app providing on-demand training in procurement, capital access, strategic planning and business scaling.
Since its inception in 2022, Impact AZ has graduated 75 entrepreneurs, many of whom have scaled into employer firms. Collectively, program alumni have generated more than $5 million in contract revenue. The program reports a 95% success rate among participants.
Impact AZ 2025 addresses these challenges by equipping underrepresented entrepreneurs with the tools, networks and resources to thrive.
