EMSDC Black History Month MBE Spotlight
At The Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council (EMSDC), our primary mission is to stimulate and support economic development with minority-owned businesses (Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American) across Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware. In honor of Black History Month, we would like to shine a spotlight on three of our amazing members and Black-owned businesses in the food, technology, and professional services industries.
Summer J. Artisan Ice Pops
Summer J. Artisan Ice Pops are all-natural, handmade, 100% plant-based, certified vegan, and gluten, dairy, and lactose free. Offering an incredible product, this company’s mission is “to change food landscapes through advocacy, awareness, and access for healthier options that serve urban and rural areas across the United States.” Summer J. Artisan Ice Pops is helping to bring food equity to all communities by providing families with an FDA approved snack that is frozen, shelf stable, and affordable.
Summer J. Artisan Ice Pops come in five scrumptious flavors, including Cool Lemonade, Blueberry Lemonade, Watermelon Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, and Simply Strawberry, with quality ingredients like real fruit, filtered water, and organic cane sugar. Headquartered in Delaware, Summer J. Artisan Ice Pops is a certified member of EMSDC and was recently selected for the Centers of Excellence (COE) mentoring program with EMSDC, SCMSDC, and Aramark. You can find out more about this award-winning Black-owned business by visiting their website here.
Technology Concepts Group International
Technology Concepts Group International (TCGI) is a New Jersey-based company that offers unique, forward-thinking solutions and ways to deliver critical IT services to its customers. Following the mantra, “solving it forward,” the TCGI Team is composed of highly-qualified, proven experts in the IT field, creating customized programs, long-term partnerships, and streamlined processes that drive down the cost of IT operations to improve the ROI for their clients.
As a Black woman and entrepreneur, TCGI CEO Avis Yates Rivers has built upon her 30-year career in the world of business, launching a company that serves a vital need in IT Tech and authoring a book, “Necessary Inclusion: Embracing the Changing Faces of Technology.” Avis Yates Rivers has won several accolades, including Entrepreneur of the Year, Woman of Distinction, the Shirley Chisholm Award for Business, Top 10 Women in Technology and Top 25 Leading Women Entrepreneurs & Business Owners. Visit technologyconcepts.com to learn more.
GMA Development Group, LLC
Pennsylvania’s GMA Development Group, LLC was established in 2015 and is currently making headlines. In 2021, Erie News Now reported that this Erie company “is helping out the city in the battle against blight by restoring vacant homes.” As the head of GMA, Developer Donald Crenshaw purchased an area home that was set to be demolished and conducted a complete renovation of the property. But this is nothing new for this philanthropic Black entrepreneur.
Over the years, Donald Crenshaw has strived to assist low to moderate income buyers in attaining affordable home ownership without worrying about the condition of the structure. As a company devoted to providing affordable housing, GMA was recently awarded a $250,000 Generational Impact Grant from Diverse Erie, also known as Erie County’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, to aid in this mission. Local news source, Go Erie reports that this grant program, which was launched in July, 2022, “invests in programs and projects that seek to have a long-lasting impact on the Black, Indigenous or People of Color population.”
EMSDC recognizes the importance of Black-owned businesses and the valuable contributions they make to our economy and the lives of others. To learn more about our mission and the minority businesses, corporations, and government organizations and agencies who partner with us, visit our website at emsdc.org today. And help us celebrate Black History Month by supporting black-owned businesses this February and every month of the year.
The Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council (EMSDC), a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, is an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). We certify and connect minority-owned businesses (Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native American) throughout Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware with member corporations that want to purchase their products, services and solutions. Our mission is to stimulate and support the economic development of minority-owned businesses and to better align them with corporations in an effort to initiate growth and opportunity through Supplier Diversity channels.