Business Development and Support Division

DBEDT’s Community-Based Economic Development (CBED) Program hosted the one-day Small Business & Entrepreneurship Resource Fair at the 15th Annual Native Hawaiian Convention held October 10 – 12, 2016 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel & Resort. The Fair brought business start-up and financial resource information, business development consulting, and other resources to Native Hawaiian small business owners and entrepreneurs. 20 Federal, State, and County agencies and private organizations invested their time and resources from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm to provide information and private consultation for all Convention attendees.

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) hosts the Convention each year to raise important issues within the community and to help provide resources and capacity-building. As the largest annual gathering of the Native Hawaiian community in Hawaii, the Convention brought together more than 300 attendees to hear presentations from Native Hawaiian organizations, and engage in networking and collaboration.

Exhibitor resource agencies included:  DBEDT/CBED Program, Business Action Center, Hawaii Department of Agriculture, UHA Health Insurance, CNHA, City & County of Honolulu – Department of Planning & Permitting; Feed the Hunger Foundation, Hawaii Small Business Development Center, IRS Taxpayer Advocates Service, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kaiser Permanente, U.S. Postal Service, Patsy T. Mink Center for Business & Leadership, Pacific Gateway Center, USDA Rural Development, U.S> Small Business Administration (SBA), State Department of Taxation-Special Enforcement Section, SCORE, and the Hawaii State Public Library System.

The Small Business & Economic Development Caucus was held after the conclusion of the Resource Fair.  The Caucus hosted Native Hawaiian organizations, small business owners, and entrepreneurs seeking marketing opportunities, SBA 8(a) information, access to capital, start-up business needs, and more.  Mark Ritchie, Branch Chief for DBEDT’s Business Support Branch, participated as a resource panelist for the Caucus.

Click through photos of the fair: