Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development

SWaM Business Forum to Focus on Partnership Opportunities

September 3, 2014

The City of Virginia Beach has organized a Small, Women-owned and Minority-owned (SWaM) Business Forum on Sept. 18 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be held at the TCC Virginia Beach Student Center at 1700 College Crescent in Virginia Beach.

The event is co-hosted by Councilwoman Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond and the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development. The Honorable Maurice Jones, Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia, is the featured speaker.

The event will provide the local small business community the opportunity to learn how several of the Commonwealth’s largest companies have structured and operate their diversity programs. Representatives from businesses including Sentara, Walmart, Virginia Natural Gas, Dominion Virginia Power and NEXCOM will provide informational sessions to outline small business partnership opportunities and programs within their companies.

The SWaM Business Forum is one of several initiatives the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development has launched to grow and support small businesses within the city. The other initiatives include special programs and workshops, business mentoring program with higher education partners, networking, resource identification and connections, consultation with the regional office of Virginia Department of Minority Business Enterprise, Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) free business counseling, online support about How to Start a Business and online Defense Business Center resources for information about how to do business with the government. For more information, visit www.yesvirginiabeach.com.

The mission of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development is to attract and retain national and international businesses to stimulate capital investment and create jobs. Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia with a population of 440,000, and it is the 37th largest in the United States. It is recognized as one of the Best Run Cities in America by 24/7 Wall St. The Department of Economic Development received re-accreditation through the International Economic Development Council in 2012 and is one of only 29 economic development organizations in the world to have this recognition. It is listed among the Top Five Overall Mid-sized American Cities of the Future, Top 10 for Economic Potential and Top Five for Infrastructure by fDi Magazine. CNNMoney.com ranked Virginia Beach as the Easiest Place to Start a Business and the 2nd Most Business-Friendly City in the country.

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