NEW YORK—Columbia Business School’s Small Business Development Center will offer a “StreetWise ‘MBA’™” curriculum this winter that aims to help neighborhood small businesses grow.The program is supported by Citi Community Development and will utilize a nationally recognized curriculum developed by Interise, a nonprofit committed to helping underserved small businesses scale. This comprehensive curriculum covers topics including financial management, marketing and sales, human resources tactics, business strategy development, and access to capital and new contracts.“Interise is very fortunate to expand our impact to the neighboring communities surrounding Columbia, thanks to our continued partnership with Citi Community Development,” said Jean Horstman, CEO of Interise. “All three partners are aligned in our beliefs that local small business growth and education is the key to growing jobs and revitalizing lower income communities.”Columbia Business School’s Small Business Development Center unveils their revamped Columbia Community Business Program on the heels of a successful six-year program, which has served primarily Harlem-based small businesses. The Center began offering their 2-year community business program in 2009 and has since served more than 50 small businesses. The program serves business owners ranging from medical doctors’ offices to restaurants and florists.“The strength of the program lies in the fact that we’ve been focused on a specific neighborhood at a time of transition and of growth,” said Kaaryn Nailor Simmons, director of Columbia’s Small Business Development Center. “These businesses are able to network with their neighbors in a way that they wouldn’t be able to if they were across the state or even the city.”“Programs like the StreetWise ‘MBA’™ are critical to help support minority and women business owners and entrepreneurs in low-income communities, giving them access to professional networks, a growth strategy, capital and contracts,” said Eileen Auld, regional director, New York Tri-State, Citi Community Development.The addition of Interise’s StreetWise ‘MBA’ curriculum will help participants in the Columbia Community Business Program develop three-year “Strategic Growth Action Plans”™ and position themselves to access and execute large contract opportunities. The participants will spend the first year of the two-year program focused on creating their in-depth and personalized growth plans and the second year working on putting their plans into action.The second year of the program focuses on preparing participants for procurement opportunities with both the university and other large institutions. Participants will be exposed to procurement officers and coached on the processes, strategies, and requirements necessary to become a successful vendor.Interise’s StreetWise ‘MBA’™ curriculum is already offered in 36 communities across the nation, including through New York University’s Stern School of Business’ Strategic Steps for Growth program, which is currently offered in partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS). Unlike some formal continuing education programs, the curriculum allows small business owners to focus on their own operations rather than study other businesses.New York City has more than 200,000 small businesses, which together employ more than half the city’s private sector workforce. Some 98 percent of those businesses have fewer than 100 employees, but opportunities to scale up open the door for greater opportunities to employment. More than 24 percent of New York City’s 2012 job hires were made by small businesses. By supporting small businesses, Columbia, Interise, and Citi aim to strengthen neighborhoods across New York City.The Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center will begin offering online applications to business owners in early October. On October 28, interested business owners will be invited to attend a presentation meeting at the center at 10 a.m.About Columbia Business SchoolColumbia Business School is the only world–class, Ivy League business school that delivers a learning experience where academic excellence meets with real–time exposure to the pulse of global business. Led by Dean Glenn Hubbard, the School’s transformative curriculum bridges academic theory with unparalleled exposure to real–world business practice, equipping students with an entrepreneurial mindset that allows them to recognize, capture, and create opportunity in any business environment. The thought leadership of the School’s faculty and staff, combined with the accomplishments of its distinguished alumni and position in the center of global business, means that the School’s efforts have an immediate, measurable impact on the forces shaping business every day. To learn more about Columbia Business School’s position at the very center of business, please visit gsb.columbia.edu.About the Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development CenterThe Columbia-Harlem Small Business Development Center was founded as a way for the university to serve the community surrounding their new Harlem campus. The center hosts free workshops, pairs advisers with business owners for one-on-one mentoring, and offers the Columbia Community Business Program.About InteriseSince 2004, Interise has taken an innovative approach to economic development in lower-income communities by helping existing small business owners plan, achieve, and manage the long-term growth of their business. More than 2,000 entrepreneurs across the country have completed the StreetWise ‘MBA’™ curriculum with extraordinary results. Historically, Interise graduates created jobs at nearly 10x the rate of the private sector as a whole. More information can be found at www.interise.org. |  Twitter: @StreetWise_MBA  Facebook: www.facebook.com/interise LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/interiseAbout CitiCiti, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi