The Elevate Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition, a program also put on by Opportunity Machine and the LEED Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, won a Silver Award for Excellence in Economic Equity & Inclusion and a Bronze Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Development by International Economic Development Council.
The awards will be presented during next month’s annual conference.
The competition was developed to offer sustained support for existing and aspiring small and minority business owners, and it offered guidance on business planning, marketing and giving a persuasive presentation to prospective funders through pitch competitions.
Of 24 applicants, eight were selected to pitch their businesses, and three were awarded stipends for capital purchases, leasing commercial kitchen space, increasing marketing efforts and hiring an additional employee. A second round of the competition will take place this fall.
Read the rest of the article originally published by The Advocate here.