Ascend Launches Mentor-Protégé Program for People of Color Owned Businesses in Collaboration with IBM, Morehouse College, and the University of Washington Foster School of Business
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2023
Ascend is proud to collaborate with IBM to launch the Mentor-Protégé Program, a seven-month program to accelerate the growth of businesses owned by people of color in the software and technology industries. Ascend's National Cohort is engaging the protégé firms with IBM, Morehouse College in Atlanta, and the University of Washington in Seattle to leverage the power of our network. Twenty (20) businesses will be selected for this seven-month program which includes:
Business mentoring from IBM executives
Consulting services from EY and RSM
MBA student engagement
Morehouse College and the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington offer executive education.
This program aims to increase the competitiveness and size of businesses owned by people of color.
Applications to the Ascend National Cohort 2023-23 will open May 31, 2023, on the ascendcities.com/cohort website.
IBM’s Global Supplier Diversity Program Director, Jennifer Turner, says, "Building and maintaining a community of diverse suppliers increases IBM's opportunity to hear new ideas, apply different approaches, and access additional solutions that respond to customer needs. Collaboration with organizations like Ascend, the University of Washington Foster School of Business, and Morehouse Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center help IBM deliver innovation, quality products, and world-class service to a growing global marketplace."
At the same time, Michael Verchot from the University of Washington Foster School of Business adds, "Ascend is addressing systemic barriers to access capital, contracting opportunities, and development of management skills. The Ascend National Cohort is bolstering businesses by preparing them to showcase their products and services and go before contract-granting opportunities to expand into larger markets."
"We are super excited about this historical collaboration with UW Foster School of Business and IBM as we work toward one common goal to scale small businesses," says Tiffany Bussey, Executive Director of Morehouse Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center.
Ascend's network has worked across 13 cities to support businesses owned by people of color through contracting opportunities with local corporations, universities, and hospitals. Now, Ascend is turning its attention to contracting opportunities in the national and global corporate sector by launching the Ascend National Cohort to grow the competitiveness of people of color-owned businesses that are suppliers to corporations, including JPMorgan Chase, EY, The Boeing Company, T-Mobile, and others.
Press Contact:
Martha Flores Perez
Marketing & Communications at Ascend
About IBM
IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud, AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain the competitive edge in their industries. More than 4000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions, and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service. For more information, visit www.ibm.com.
About Ascend:
Ascend began in Seattle in 2016 as an initiative from the University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business' Center for Business Development & Consulting. Businesses owned by people of color have used Ascend's program to add $2.3 billion in new contract revenue in the last two years. JPMorgan Chase has provided financial, strategic, and implementation assistance to grow Ascend's impact.
The program has expanded thanks to funding from JP Morgan Chase. It continues working in cities nationally, adding the next phase with the Ascend National Cohort. Ascend is a national network of local ecosystems joining forces to best support businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color. Ascend comprises 13 cities plus the Ascend National Cohort and supports businesses through its M^3 Model. This model helps enterprises increase their access to markets through contracting opportunities, management skills through mentoring, and access to money through loans and investments. Through June 2022, Ascend has supported 1,153 businesses and helped businesses acquire 319 contracts. Between 2019 and 2021, Ascend has helped more than 80 minority-owned businesses grow beyond the $1 million revenue level, 20 beyond the $5 million level, and eight beyond the $10 million level.
