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          This virtual event gives small business owners the chance to hear directly from procurement officers about opportunities to work with them.

          05/29/2025

          12:00pm - 1:00pm

          Virtual

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          City Awake
          Art of Connection: An Evening at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

          Join us for an exclusive networking event at the Museum of Fine Arts and enjoy self-guided tours of John Wilson and Van Gogh, showcasing the deep bond of family, friendship, and community.

          06/05/2025

          5:30pm - 8:30pm

          Museum of Fine Arts

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Series
          Transportation First | State of the Airport

          The Transportation First Series offers a platform to discuss the challenges faced by our region, with the input of experts and changemakers.

          06/12/2025

          2:45pm - 4:30pm

          Hybrid | Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

          arrow-go
          Read More
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          • Call for Nominations
          • Insights
        • Transformational DEI Certificate

          This program is in redevelopment. Click this page for DEI resources.

          Read More
          Women’s Leadership Program

          Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.

          Read More
          Boston’s Future Leaders

          Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.

          Read More
          Authentic Professionalism for Early Career Professionals

          Join us on June 12 for a highly interactive virtual workshop with Strategic Career & Leadership Coach Carole-Ann Penney.

          Read More
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          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
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          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

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          For over 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.

          Read More
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          The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.

          Read More
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

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Building a Local Business Ecosystem

How the Emmanuel Business Collaborative Supports the Development of Business and Community Partnerships

July 22, 2024

The Emmanuel Business Collaborative (EBC) connects Emmanuel College students and the courses they are taking with local businesses and organizations that deliver social impact in the Greater Boston community. Each year, the EBC identifies companies and organizations to partner with who are looking to solve a business challenge for which students can help create solutions.  

Over the last 4 years, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with the EBC to connect us with small and diverse local businesses that are in a growth stage of their business journey including The Little Cocoa Bean Co., Spark FM, Hillside Harvest, The Urban Grape, Casablanca Services, Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs and sySTEMic flow.  

The Process:  

As part of this program, EBC faculty members work directly with these entrepreneurs to understand their businesses and growth challenges. This exchange of ideas becomes the foundation of a case study for our students to use in their analysis of the business problems presented. During the second semester of the school year, students work on these case studies in either their capstone or other industry-specific courses. Students work collaboratively with each other, the entrepreneurs and faculty, to analyze the challenges faced by the businesses and develop actionable recommendations. At the end of the semester, students present their solutions to the entrepreneurs and share their business solutions that they have created.  

During the summer, EBC provides the funding for some of these students to intern with these businesses and implement the solutions they created. This allows students to learn directly from the entrepreneurs that they are helping and continue to gain hands on experience.  

I hired an intern from Emmanuel, and she pushed hard for me to be on TikTok. And I was like, TikTok! I do not believe in dancing on the internet, and I don’t want to learn how to use another social media tool. I just don’t have the time – I’m building this business… She did such a phenomenal job presenting her case that once she agreed that I wouldn’t have to dance on the internet and that I could just be myself, talk about the stuff that I really believed in, and how I liked to work with foods and cultural foods and incorporate those into dishes for children, she said ‘You can just be you and I will have the camera.’ We saw immediate results. I believe her first video was posted in February. Two months later we had 17,000 followers. When she left the city six months later, I never posted another video. But that said, it has still steadily grown, and I still meet people to this day who come in and say they follow us on TikTok. 

 – Tracy Skelly, Founder and Owner of The Little Cocoa Bean Co.  

The Results:  

The businesses that are served by the EBC vary in their needs. The EBC matches each business with the specific Emmanuel course and students that can best add value to the business challenge. Examples of initiatives that the EBC has assisted clients with include: 

  • Competitor analysis 
  • Strategic planning for growth and expansion 
  • Market segmentation 
  • Targeted marketing and communications strategies 
  • Pricing strategies and break-even analysis for new products 
  • Identification of public and private partnership opportunities 

This work has helped partners of the EBC recognize business success. One client, John LaBella, Co-Founder of HousingWorks noted “We did about $50,000 more in business this last fiscal year and as of this summer have five major new clients, so next year’s fiscal outlook will be even better. I feel like the student competition really helped in making us step out of our habits and think more creatively. And I loved the experience.” The EBC remains invested in supporting the continued growth of its partners and often engages in multiple types of projects over time (live case, internships, research, etc.) to support their continued needs. 

About the Emmanuel Business Collaborative: 

The Emmanuel Business Collaborative (EBC) resides within the Emmanuel College School of Business and Management. The EBC seeks to be a community partner to local businesses and the organizations that support them. The EBC partners with several local organizations each year in a variety of ways including Live Case Studies, Internships, Research, Community Education and Speaker Events. The work of the Emmanuel Business Collaborative is supported by a generous grant from Cummings Foundation.

For more information, please contact Kelly Basile.   

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