In its sixth year, Mass Black Expo aims to ‘meet the moment’

Since its first installment back in 2019, the Mass Black Expo has provided a space for Black business owners and entrepreneurs to network and showcase their work.

This year, the event, created by the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, or BECMA, will take place 10 days before the presidential election. As such, the organization will incorporate into its programming discussions at the intersection of small business matters and the current political climate.

BECMA president and CEO Nicole Obi speaks at the 2023 Mass Black Expo. PHOTO: BOBBY SHAKES

Last year’s tagline for the expo was “Building Black Wealth,” which BECMA had adopted as a slogan for the work it does, said Xavier Andrews, chief of communications, marketing and events for BECMA, a statewide member-based nonprofit that focuses on fostering economic equity in the Commonwealth. Instead of solely focusing on closing the racial wealth gap, which Andrews said is important, BECMA wants to go beyond that by creating more wealth in Black communities.

This year, the theme remains but with an addition that recognizes the “charged socio-political climate” during which it will be taking place, he added. So, the tagline is “Building Black Wealth, Empowering Black Voices.”

“We are meeting the moment that way in terms of having some programming that speaks to where we are at this particular time,” Andrews said.

That includes panels on the statewide Massachusetts ballot, the push back against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and recent Supreme Court decisions and their impacts on Massachusetts businesses. State senators Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Liz Miranda will be present as guests or keynote speakers.

The expo has expanded since it first started, attracting over 1,000 attendees last year.

Attendees watch the main stage at the 2023 Mass Black Expo. PHOTO: Bobby Shakes

Taking place on October 25 and 26 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in the Seaport, this year’s expo will include an after party and an invite-only electric vehicle test drive to honor BECMA’s electric vehicle kickstarter program, launched in 2021 to support entrepreneurs looking to enter the electric vehicle industry.

While Black-owned businesses are at the center of BECMA’s work, Andrews said the expo is for everyone.

For example, the event is open to people of all ages. In the past, attendees brought their children, perhaps because they didn’t have childcare options. But BECMA also did intentional outreach to high schools and colleges. This year, it did the same because the organization wants to support young people and give aspiring entrepreneurs of color a space to learn, Andrews said. Some of the businesses at the expo also work with youth, so allowing young people to attend is an opportunity for business to connect with their audiences.

Similarly, the expo is not just for Black business owners and entrepreneurs.

“We often say that building the Massachusetts Black economy improves the overall economy, so it helps us all,” he said, pointing to a 2021 report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation that found that closing the racial wealth gap would grow the Massachusetts economy by $25 billion in five years.

Apart from the expo, BECMA also offers capital grants, professional service and digital tools to its members, and, through its BECMA Community Investments program, provides investments to members who have business contracts but need capital to execute them, a common challenge faced by small businesses.

BECMA also has supplier diversity services that support typically underrepresented businesses in securing municipal contracts. The organization models this in their own contracting practices for the expo. Everything from the event production, badge printing, mobile app and catering will be handled by Black-owned businesses.

Eugene Green, president of Clearscope Technology Solutions, attended the Mass Black Expo for the first time last year after joining BECMA three years ago to tap into a network of Black business and receive support.

When Green moved from his native New York to Boston 10 years ago, he found it challenging, as a transplant, not only to connect with Black residents, but also specifically with Black business owners. For this reason, he said, a space like the Mass Black Expo that showcases the work of Black business owners and entrepreneurs is important.

This year, Green will be exhibiting at the expo for the first time, sharing the work of his company, whose service offerings include strategic consulting, managed IT and security services for commercial, nonprofit and government organizations.

Green sees BECMA providing a necessary service for Black small business owners through the Mass Black Expo and its other offerings.

“Sometimes we don’t have the ability to advocate for ourselves, and that’s where BECMA comes in. You advocate,” he said. “They point us in the right direction.”