Hartford Neighborhood Development
Key initiatives to a vibrant city on the rise
Revitalization of Hartford neighborhoods is a vital part of the economic growth of our capital city. The Hartford Neighborhood Development Committee sets direction for the MetroHartford Alliance’s engagement on economic and community development issues within the City of Hartford. Comprised of business, education, and government leaders, the Committee works on key initiatives to improve start-up as well as established small businesses through business development and mentoring programs and plays an influential role in community development projects.
In this Section
Micro Business Incubator
Developed in 2000 as a joint project by Upper Albany Main Street, the Barney School of Business at the University of Hartford, and the MetroHartford Alliance, the Micro Business Incubator (MBI) program is in its third year of success. The MBI brings training, development, resources, and support to businesses throughout the Upper Albany neighborhood of Hartford. The MBI program matches micro-enterprises in Upper Albany with students from the University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business to develop business capacity.
Program Components:
- One-on-one on-site training
- Business planning
- Marketing and Merchandising
- Technology
- Customer Service
The MBI program has received community recognition as a winner of the 2004 Team EDDY Award from CERC for securing $90,000 in loans from HEDCo and closing three small business loans in 2003. Bank of America also recognized Upper Albany Main Street, a partner of MBI, with a Neighborhood Builders award, which contributes $200,000 in grant funding and leadership training to nonprofit organizations working to promote vibrant neighborhoods.
BusinessLINC Connecticut | top
BusinessLINC Connecticut was founded in 2002 to encourage collaboration between established business mentors and minority business enterprises. The Connecticut Coalition is one of 17 coalitions nationally and was first introduced by the Department of Treasury in 1999 and supported by The Business Roundtable. The Connecticut Coalition is chaired by Ivan Gutierrez, director of Corporate Services for Northeast Utilities, in partnership with the Connecticut Minority Supplier Development Council (CMSDC) and the MetroHartford Alliance.
The Connecticut Coalition has launched a program of pairing Minority Business Entrepreneurs (MBEs) with corporate partnersfor assistance with technical elements, market development and business strategies. Expected outcomes are improved customer bases, increased revenues and profitability, job creation, improved management and technical systems, andbusiness-to-business networking leading to an increase in statewide supplier diversity. Program cycles are one year in length and have operated for the calendar years of 2003 and 2004.
Since its inception, BusinessLINC has demonstrated an impressive record of program success. A Steering Committee of 16, representing an array of Connecticut business sectors from insurance and banking, to utilities and technology, serve as project facilitators and policy overseers. For the 2004 program year, BLC recruited and matched 19 corporate mentors with 23 minority entrepreneurs.
Program Components: | top
- Mentor-entrepreneur orientation and mentoring training
- Workplace related programs and seminars
- Letters of agreement
- Written outlines of MBEs’ needs
- Mutually agreed upon goals and objectives
- Progress reports and mid-year evaluations via both survey and personal contact by Steering Committee
Referrals of MBEs are handled by CMSDC. The program is open to MBEs who have been certified by CMSDC in business for a minimum of two years and have two or more employees and a main office in an urban area.
For more information on Hartford Neighborhood Development programs, please contact Nadine Francis West, vice president, administration and Hartford Initiatives at 860-525-4451 ext. 232 or nfwest@metrohartford.com
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