Small Business Month Launches with MWBE Roundtable

On May 12, New York City Small Business Services officially kicked off Small Business Month in collaboration with the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce.

More than 70 representatives from Staten Island's business community joined for breakfast at the Colonnade Diner, local business leaders Teresa Rampulla (SheMediaNY) and Wayne Roye (Troinet), provided insights and testimony to the opportunities small businesses can access via the M/WBE (Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise) certification.

The panel also hosted Marino Pawlowski (Finance Procurement Director at CSI), David Coreas (NYC Executive Director of Outreach and MWBE Recruitment), and Anthrony Miller (Business Development Manager, NJ/NY Port Authority), and was moderated by Michael Garner, New York City's Chief Business Diversity Officer, who navigated the discussion of different opportunities available at the city and local levels that MWBE businesses can access via certification.

Additionally, business owners and entrepreneurs had the chance to ask questions and connect with different city agencies about the certification process, and how to use the help of the Chamber to connect to different free business services.