August 31, 2017 | Lakesha Mathis, Program Manager

The St. Louis Minority Business Council LLC, powered by the St. Louis Regional Chamber, announced today the organization has phased out it’s minority business certification service. The Council will be transitioning from a minority business enterprise certification centered organization to a participatory membership model focusing on support, education and advocacy.

Additionally, the new focus areas include but are not limited to:

• Acting as a regional resource for all diverse businesses.

• Ending duplication of services (certification, events, programming, etc.)

• Providing capacity building programs for minority and women owned businesses and their partners.

• Developing a company ranking program and strategies to celebrate supplier diversity and helping grow diverse businesses.

• Targeted strategies for diverse business and corporate relationship building.

• Developing a regional construction catalogue and strategies on how you can get involved, and more.

“Building capacity and helping grow diverse businesses is a major economic development issue for the St. Louis region,” said Joe Reagan, President & CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber. “All of our region’s businesses need to have the right tools, relationships and opportunities to create more jobs, and attract investment and talent to St. Louis. The Minority Business Council’s new focus areas will help us create more economic opportunities and support a stronger business community.”

Kendra Burris, St. Louis Minority Business Council Board Chair asserts, “We are excited to roll out this new format. We understand that it has been a long time coming. Trust us, we feel the same way.”

In the meantime, if you have additional questions, please contact Lakesha Mathis, St. Louis Minority Business Council Program Manager at (314) 444-1165.