Participants from each region will live pitch their ideas to a panel of judges in Atlanta and Los Angeles, with hopes of advancing to the semi-finals and finals on Thursday, September 27, at the NBMBAA® 40th Annual Conference and Exposition Scale Up-Pitch Challenge featuring Frederick W. Smith, founder, and CEO of FedEx. The grand prize winner will receive $50,000, accompanied by a $ 10,000-second place prize and $2,500 People’s Choice award – investments to help aspiring entrepreneurs achieve their goals.
Launched in 2017, the Scale-Up Pitch Challenge works to satisfy the NBMBAA® 2020 Vision of awarding 2 million dollars in business grants to members. The 2017 winner, Atima Lui, subsequently made the 2018 FYI: FedEx Young Innovators List following last year’s Conference, where her winning pitch featured Nudest; her company built around “Nudemeter” technology, matching a woman’s skin tone to one of 54 in its system to perfect-match products such as lingerie and hosiery – and improving confidence of dark-skinned women and girls.
The deadline for regional competition entry is July 22nd. For more information on the Scale-Up Pitch Challenge entry and the 40th Annual National Black MBA Conference and Exposition, please visit www.nbmbaa.org.