Empowerment Pitch Competition  

The African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida and IKEA US Community Foundation are excited to announce this year’s Empowerment Business Conference will include a new pitch competition, providing Black-owned businesses the opportunity to win funds to be used for the growth and scale of their operation. Central Florida’s Black-owned businesses are invited to submit the application to participate in the inaugural Empowerment Pitch Competition that will take place at the 2022 Empowerment Business Conference. 

Now in its third year, the 2022 Empowerment Business Conference continues to build on its success and provide a day-long event that allows business owners and entrepreneurs to learn, share ideas,  strategize, and grow. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to network, interact with vendors, participate in educational workshop sessions, and enjoy the Empowerment Luncheon. The event will take place on Friday, August 19, 2022, at Full Sail University.  

New to the conference this year, the Inaugural Empowerment Pitch Competition is geared towards showcasing established business owners seeking funding to branch into a new area, invest in additional marketing, or other ways to “accelerate” their business to the next level. This competition is not intended for start-up funding. 

Five finalists will be selected to compete on Friday, August 19, 2022, at the 3rd Annual Empowerment  Business Conference. In addition, they will attend a “Practice Your Pitch” session on August 12,  2022, where they will be given feedback and have the opportunity to refine their pitch.

Prizes: 

First place: $10,000 

Second place: $7,000 

Third place: $3,000 

Fourth place: Admission to Accelerate Central Florida Cohort  

Fifth place: Admission to Accelerate Central Florida Cohort  

*First – Third place cash prizes also include admission to Accelerate Central Florida Cohort 

Eligibility 

To apply for the inaugural Empowerment Pitch Competition, the company must:

  • Be owned or co-owned by someone over 18 years of age. 
  • Be at least 51% Black-owned, operated, and controlled in Central Florida
  • Own rights to products and ideas they are pitching
  • Agree to the AACCCF 3rd Annual Empowerment Business Conference competition guidelines;  
  • Be available to participate in the Accelerate Central Florida Cohort, where they will master the  award-winning StreetWise MBA program 
  • Complete the application and submit a 3-minute video about their company by Friday, August 5, 2022 

Application Fee:  

AACCCF Members: 

The application fee is waived for AACCCF members in financial good standing, with a paid membership start date prior to July 15, 2022. AACCCF members with an overdue membership balance are ineligible to use the application fee waiver and will be required to pay the $100 application fee. 

Non-Members:  

An application fee of $100 must be included with the application of non-members. The applicant’s payment must be submitted at the time of registration.

 

Ready to apply?