This June 21st, dozens of Black Innovation Support Organization (BISO) leaders will gather in Sunny Miami Florida to exchange ideas, build community, learn skills, and gain access to a wealth of information, ideas, inspiration, and actionable tactics. Their mission: to take home everything they can to advance the prosperity of the thousands of Black Entrepreneurs they have dedicated most, if not all, of their lives to serving.
Well, that and to have a little fun while they get the good work done.
The destination is Sustainability Summit — Black Innovation Alliance’s annual three-day, in-person experience dedicated to helping BISOs build strong, durable, and lasting organizations. Throughout the Summit, our coalition of organizations gathers to focus on core capabilities and critical development areas.
Why we gather
Entrepreneurship is rising within the Black community – particularly entrepreneurship geared toward the emerging innovation economy. As a result, Black-led innovator support organizations are launching at a rapid clip to meet the need. These firms provide an array of services and support, including incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces, networking opportunities, coaching and investor matchmaking, and more. As a result, the businesses are bursting with innovation. There’s just one catch.
Due to the nascent nature of the space and limited investments being made toward Black innovators, the lack of information on best practices or viable business models can cause these organizations to struggle to survive. Without dedicated education and training, the space experiences churn as new organizations emerge to meet the need, just as others exit due to their inability to “keep the lights on.”
Black-led Innovator Support Organizations are the front line of support for Black innovators. At Black Innovation Alliance, we believe that stronger and more high-capacity organizations will produce more impactful programming, generate more successful entrepreneurs, and create more profitable businesses.
Powered by UBS, the programming of the Sustainability Summit was curated based on the pain points of our member organizations. These sessions were designed to be highly interactive and engaging, leveraging both peer learning and external experts.
But what is most special about Sustainability Summit is the exchange of information and energy!
What do BISO leaders do at Sustainability Summit?
A recap from Day 2 of Last Year's Sustainability Summit. Featuring Jamie Sears, UBS Managing Director and Co-Head of Social Impact and Philanthropy We have grown so much in such a short time!
Sustainability Summit got its name by becoming an event where Black innovators could swap stories, strategies, and the critical information necessary to evolve their businesses. BIA encourages conversation and learning through sessions that cover real-life scenarios that help them improve their businesses. We call this Capacity Building, and it is one of the Black Innovation Alliance’s core impact areas, along with research, advocacy, and narrative change.
Throughout our Summit, our members can interact with each other, accelerating the pace of information exchange and increasing the depth and breadth of our collective business knowledge. It’s all about strengthening who we are as a collective and ensuring that the proper information makes it to each unique innovation support organization.
“The multigeneration approach that BIA has taken on to be able to build relationships, connection, and cohesion within our community has helped me to thrive and to garner the skills and resources that I need from people who are not only my age, but some older, and some younger.”
Some businesses identify that strategy that was the missing piece. Others learn about the best way to develop programs and processes. Others, still, glean essential insights on fundraising and partnerships.
And this year, BIA is proud to announce the first-ever Spirit of BIA awards, created to honor and celebrate the BIA members who embody the core values of our organization, including love, mutualism, integrity, trust, and of course, sustainability.
BIA is in it to win it!
This is more than a Testimonial. It's the most authentic explanation of how BIA builds an ecosystem for Black Entrepreneurs and Innovators. And, incidentally, our favorite video ever.
“As someone who supports other entrepreneurs, my job can get lonely. To be in a network of folks who understand that, who get it, who live that, and are in different parts of the same journey has been invaluable.”
The Black Innovation Alliance wants to continue to uplift Black entrepreneurs and Black Innovation Support Organization for years to come. We aim to support over one million Black innovators and 500 Black Innovation Support Organizations by 2030 through the Decade of Black Innovation, and hosting events like these on behalf of Black Innovators worldwide help us reach our goal. The Sustainability Summit is just one way that we are working towards our goals and disseminating the information and positivity that Black Innovation Support Organization deserve and need to succeed.
What pivotal breakthroughs await in Miami, poised to transform the lives of the countless Black Entrepreneurs they serve? We’ll just have to wait a few more weeks to find out
