Chama Capital Founder featured at World Business Chicago Empower Series Launch
Chama Capital Founder, Christine Saffold, was a featured speaker at the World Business Chicago Empower Series event on April 27 at the Shine BRIGHT® Community Center, housed at the Discover Customer Care Center in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago.
The event, themed “How to Scale Your Business” and sponsored by Verizon, focused on connecting small business owners to resources and tools to grow revenue, build teams, access capital, and manage operations.
Christine spoke on the “How to Navigate Capital” panel alongside business leaders from Allies for Community Business, BMO Harris Bank, and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
The panelists shared valuable information with small business owners regarding preparing to access capital for their businesses, what “scalability” really means, and what different types of funders (including banks, CDFIs and other alternative lenders, venture capitalists, angel investors, etc.) look for in the companies that they fund.
“When I talk to women small business owners, some of the words I’ve heard them use to describe the process of seeking capital for their businesses include ‘invasive,’ ‘mind-numbing,’ ‘impersonal, and ‘ lacking transparency,’” Christine said. “It’s crucial that we have more events like this focused on tactical action steps business owners can take to prepare to access capital, providing direct connections to capital providers, and demystifying what funders are really looking for.”
The event also featured an esteemed keynote on business branding, a “Behind the Scenes of Small Business” panel featuring expert hospitality business operators and 10 exhibitors focused on serving small businesses.
According to World Business Chicago: “The Empower Series is fostering a new collaborative approach to uplifting all, so businesses from all corners of the city have the opportunity to proposer.”
“I look forward to seeing World Business Chicago’s work supporting South and West side businesses expand,” Christine said.
