Image courtesy The Vibe - 101.5 FM Airing Sundays 6AM - 8AM
Chair Elect Edwin Narain hosts the weekly Front Page Tampa Bay show on 101.5FM The Vibe. As the Tampa Bay Chamber recruits Black and Hispanic owned businesses for its Minority Business Accelerator 2026 Cohort, this interview segment gave listeners a closer look at the components of the 2-year curriculum. Chamber Vice President of Economic Inclusion and Leadership Programs, Avril Stinson, shared details of the program, now globally recognized. Chamber Member companies who volunteer their time, talents and also sponsorships make it a game changer for the local business owners in each cohort.
Click here to listen to the full radio interview.
"We've pivoted," explained Stinson when describing the 35 accelerator companies over the years. "We used to have a lot of construction companies, which I love because they understood what it meant when we talked about subprime relationships. We had professional services companies that were looking at what the accelerator could do. Now we have an insurance agency, a law firm, several cyber security companies. So companies that wouldn't necessarily look to us for assistance in the past, understand that the accelerator is truly there to help them scale, build their business capacity and take their business in the direction they want to go in."
The accelerator provides 8 - 10 educational sessions covering what businesses need to scale and grow, to become more bankable and achieve sustainability. Subject experts meet with the cohorts covering their areas of expertise, including strategic planning, access to capital, accounting, marketing and operational needs.
To learn more about the accelerator and the Application process, click here. Online applications will be received until September 18th.
