WILMINGTON — The Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Interise, a national not-for-profit with award-winning small business programs, to offer EnrichDelaware! Using Interise’s StreetWise ‘MBA’ curriculum, the program provides small business owners with the knowledge, know-how and networks needed for business growth and expansion.

Participants will join a committed group of Delaware-based business owners for interactive class sessions; peer mentoring groups; and the opportunity to learn from local experts in the fields of finance, marketing, and procurement. Participants will complete the program with a customized, three-year strategic growth plan – plus the confidence and ability to turn those plans into action.

“Addressing barriers to minority business growth and empowering minority business owners to add focus to working on their businesses, obtaining training and resources, and advancing the small business economic footprint is our passion here at the DEBCC,” Ayanna Khan, DEBCC president and CEO, said in a prepared statement. “By providing these much-needed services, EnrichDelaware! will not only strengthen the minority business community, but Delaware’s business sector at large. We are so thrilled to be bringing this program to Delaware.”

“We are proud to partner with Delaware’s Black Chamber of Commerce and to bring the networks, knowledge, and know-how of our programming to the business community,” said Darrell Byers, CEO of Interise. “Like the rest of the country, Delaware’s small businesses have suffered even more this past year, and the percentage of Black-owned small businesses that have closed their doors has been much higher than the average. Supporting small businesses for local job and wealth creation — that is both Delaware’s and our nation’s best small business recovery strategy.”

“Having access to education and resources to grow small businesses is at the core of the entrepreneurial ecosystem building that we at Wilmington Alliance are committed to,” said Renata Beata Kowalczyk, chief executive officer at Wilmington Alliance, a key program partner. “We are proud to partner with the Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce and Cornerstone West CDC on this crucial effort! Economic development and strengthening the local economy truly begin when we are providing equitable economic mobility for all.”

“Partnerships are the core of Cornerstone West CDC’s approach to community and economic development,” said Sarah Lester, president & CEO at Cornerstone West CDC, a key program partner. “We are honored to work with amazing local and national partners to continue to build wealth in our communities and enrich our small business owners, in particular as our communities shift from survival to recovery following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”