Fordham Business Development Collaboratory is an initiative via the Social Innovation Collaboratory at Fordham University. We intend to provide COST-FREE advisory to businesses around the Bronx in areas of finance, compliance, marketing, and technology. Beyond that, our goal is to build a supportive network of professionals, professors, government organizations, and other small businesses for local entrepreneurs to connect with.
The COVID-19 pandemic and other recent events have disproportionately harmed small business owners in the Bronx. Therefore, we have assembled a large cohort of passionate and diverse students from Fordham University to offer cost-free assistance and consulting for any local Bronx businesses that would be interested in working with us.
Our initiative consists of four main teams. The finance team assists with financial analyses of our business partners and helps them perform projects like implementing contactless payment systems. The compliance team assists with loan applications and provides counsel regarding the new rules and guidelines for businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The marketing team helps grow social media presence and can develop or improve websites for our clients. Finally, the technology team advises our business partners on cyber risk and any technological concerns these businesses may have.
Each team is made up of students who are either Majors/Minors in areas relating to finance, compliance, marketing, and technology; have previous experience working in these fields of interest; and/or plan on working with professors and other professional contacts to ensure our student collaborators have adequate knowledge and qualifications for many business-related endeavors.
Specific examples of these endeavors include: analyzing finances, applying for loans, obtaining permits, developing websites, strengthening social media presence, selling products online, implementing contactless payment systems, finding virus-protection software, etc.
Although, we describe some of the services we offer. Our mission is to be a resource and address the needs of businesses. If interested in working with our group, please contact us at the details below.
Rich Shrestha (Executive Student Director for Fordham Business Development Collaboratory) rshrestha2@fordham.edu
Matthew Rosa Ruane (Director of Outreach for Fordham Business Development Collaboratory) mrosaruane@fordham.edu
Credits:
Created with an image by Ronny Coste - "untitled image"