Young Entrepreneurs

I am in Boston today accepting the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) Mayoral Leadership Award for our “substantial and passionate approach to supporting inner city economic revitalization” in the City of Miami - This is the ICIC’s 10th anniversary of the Inner City 100, the only nationwide business ranking to shine a spotlight on inner city company success.

I was further honored to meet the ICIC Growing Up CEO winners - this an award for international youth entrepreneurship competition for financially deprived youth business owners.

Miami ranked second in the list of international cities with the most winners this year, with four young women entrepreneurs receiving the winning Merrill Lynch grant and invitation to an exclusive Harvard Business School forum: Tiffany Fuentes, Dalila Flores, Cassandra Callazo, and LaJoya Anderson for their local businesses, Les Dames de Chocolat and Creative Memories - These young women are excelling in creating small business opportunities, and their products are amazing - the vegan chocolate covered strawberries were the success of the gathering!

And more great news, the ICIC is bringing the 2008 Inner City Economic Forum Summit, the country’s only national leadership network focused on business-led inner city economic development, to the City of Miami on September 25-26, 2008.

Miami's economic backbone is made up of small businesses - we are proud of our entrepreneurial spirit, and of these young men and women who have wholeheartedly embraced it.