Charlottesville, Va. (WIRE) – The Charlottesville-Albemarle Black Business Expo promotes the success of black-owned businesses in the community.
The organizers behind the expo say they created it with love and support in mind.
“We created this Black Business Expo in direct response to the events that took place in Charlottesville in August 2017,” said event organizer Ty Cooper.
Now, six years later, the Black Business Expo continues to grow and provide a sense of community.
“We have 41 booths, which is the most we’ve ever had. The most we got before today was 35, that was in 2018,” Cooper said. It doesn’t necessarily even the playing field, but it gives more support and says, ‘Hey, check me out here. We want to support you.’
The event gives businesses exposure to become more profitable and reach new customers.
“A lot of times black businesses are underfunded, so this gives businesses exposure that they don’t have,” said Aibby Edwards with Allbaugh.
“We want to give you a place to sell your products, sell your services and promote your services and products to new markets,” Cooper said.
The expo provides learning opportunities for aspiring and current business owners.
“We have three panel discussions—one on finance, one on marketing, and one on emerging industries and how to disrupt them,” Cooper said.
The Black Business Expo brought in all kinds of vendors this year, including book publishers, financial services businesses, apparel and jewelry retailers, fitness businesses and more.
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