Kwame Marfo
Dear Friends,

This winter has been a very exciting one for BCNA!
Please scroll down to read about: 
  • Our terrific women's entrepreneurship event - She Made It! - in December
  • Postponement of our 9th annual BCNA Immigrant Heritage Week Awards
  • The Global Refugee Entrepreneurship Summit we attended in London
  • Opportunity Finance Network's article profiling BCNA
  • Our new Board Members and Chair 
It was a great winter and we're looking forward to an even more exciting spring thanks to our terrific team, partners, and entrepreneurial clients!

Yanki Tshering
Executive Director
POSTPONED   
 
The 9th Annual BCNA Immigrant Heritage Week Awards has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns. Please watch for your invitation and a new date, coming soon.  
 
Immigrant Heritage Banner 2020
 
 

Welcoming a New Board Chair and Members in 2020

It is with enormous gratitude that we salute Larry Rubenstein, who has served as our Board Chair for the past three years and is stepping down to hand over the Board Chair position to Board Member Kwame Marfo. Larry's leadership and commitment to our mission has enabled BCNA to double our impact in three years and to attract diverse sources of fun ding for loans and grants and we are pleased he will remain on the board and continue to guide us. We are also very excited to welcome Tim Zhakselekov and Joan Carty, the newest members of our Board.
 
An Inspiring Global Refugee Entrepreneurship Summit

The second Global Refugee Entrepreneurship Summit took place in London last month, hosted by the Centre for Entrepreneurs, the UK's leading entrepreneurship foundation, and sponsors Natwest Bank and the Said Foundation. Over 140 representatives from government, non-profit, academic and private sectors met at the NatWest Conference Center for compelling, insightful conversations about how best to build evidence for - and inspire growing global support for - supporting entrepreneurship as a means of livelihood for the 26 million refugees worldwide.
 
 
The Opportunity Finance Network Profiles BCNA
 
We were very pleased to be featured by OFN this month with "New York CDFI Helps Fulfill American Dream with OFN and HSBC Bank Investment." The article profiles  how we work with OFN, including a $500,000 equity equivalent (EQ2) investment in January from OFN and HSBC Bank's Good to Grow CDFI Investment Fund.    
She Made It Panel
 
She Made It - Featuring a Terrific Panel of Entrepreneurs
 
On December 5th, we were proud to present "She Made It," an event spotlighting four women - all immigrants - who created successful businesses making and selling their own products. Over 150 people attended, and left inspired by their stories as well as with valuable insights into how they, too, can overcome challenges to succeed with their own businesses.
Workshops 
 
Click here to see all our upcoming workshops on Small Business Success, Marketing, and Home Ownership.  
BCNA Voices, Inspirational BCNA Speakers

BCNA Voices is an exciting roster of engaging entrepreneurs: women who can share their stories to inspire members of their own communities or to help influence policies that promote entrepreneurship.   
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