ORLANDO – MYLE, a mobile app for event planning, won the $10,000 cash prize and first place in the 2022 Empowerment Pitch Competition held at Full Sail Live. Kevin Lloyd, creator of Make Your Life Entertaining Inc. (MYLE app), Ronice L. Jackson, founder of Residential Matchmakers and Shirley Dorsainvil founder and president of Haitians Who Blog were awarded with a total of $20,000 in cash prizes at the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida 2022 Empowerment Business Conference.
August is National Black Business Month, and the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida (AACCCF), in partnership with IKEA US Community Foundation, presented the Empowerment Pitch Competition, a brand-new initiative launched at today’s conference. MYLE, a Black-owned tech startup owned by Kevin Lloyd won the first prize and the $10,000 chase prize, followed by Shirley Dorsainvil founder and president of Haitians Who Blog who won the second place and a $7,000 cash prize and Ronice L. Jackson, founder of Residential Matchmakers, who won the third place and a $3,000 cash prize.
The local Black entrepreneurs participated in the competition program, which involved mentoring, coaching, and a grant to grow and scale their business operations. Additionally, the three winners were admitted in Interise’s award-winning StreetWise ‘MBA’ program, which provides small business owners with the knowledge, management know-how, and the networks needed to grow established small businesses.
The African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida 2022 Empowerment Business Conference full-day conference is designed to equip entrepreneurs and business leaders across different sectors with a blueprint for success in leadership and organizational development.
During the conference, Dr. Sean Snaith, Director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting, and a nationally recognized economist in the field of business and economic forecasting provided invaluable financial insight, instrumental for the development of strategic business plans.
Motivational speaker Simon T. Bailey and Dr. Laine Powell, founder, and executive director of Tech Sassy Girlz, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring underrepresented girls in middle and high school to engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) also participated in the conference.
Past speakers included US Black Chamber President/CEO Ron Busby, US Congresswoman Val Demings, Tony McGee, former NFL player and President/CEO of HNM Logistics, and Dorian Boyland, Owner/Operator of Mercedes Benz South Orlando.
