Essence Festival to Include Entrepreneurship Accelerator for Black Male Millennials

WASHINGTON - June 30, 2016 - PRLog -- Howard R. Jean, founder of the Black Male Entrepreneur Institute shares stage with the President and CEO of U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. Ron Busby, Sr., Senior Advisor at U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency, Isaac McCoy and Program Director of Black Upstart, Kezia Williams discussing the Power of Millennial Entrepreneurs.

June 30, 2016 (Washington, DC) - Time Inc.'s highly acclaimed ESSENCE Music Festival, one of the largest consumer live events in the country, with more than 550,000 attendees, expands its lineup to include a series of events with focus on developing successful black owned businesses. The U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency, the only federal agency solely dedicated to the growth, expansion, and sustainability of the Nation's 8 million minority-owned firms has partnered with Essence to lead a first-of-its-kind collaboration to present the "Leap.Run.Grow." workshops in the Money + Power Expo's Entrepreneurship Village during the festival.

Jean, founder of the BME Institute, will join the Essence Music Festival as a guest panelist on Saturday, July 2^nd at 2pm discussing "The Power of Millennial Entrepreneurship". Jean's work with BME, an all African-American based accelerator for millennial male entrepreneurs, has earned him a seat as he shares best practices and the need to increase support for his budding non-profit. "We at BME are excited and honored to share the work we're doing with black men who aspire to become millionaires in business. We're appreciative of MBDA, USBC and Essence for having us attend this year's festivities, expanding the vision of the Essence Music Festival, bringing added value to the cliché of partying with a purpose."

Founded in 2015 with his own funds, Jean created BME as a way to support other African-American Male Entrepreneurs nationally who aspire to become millionaires who specifically are passionate about shifting the perception and economic status of black me in America. Recently, BME, in partnership with USBC, was awarded a $100,000 grant from Wells Fargo to support the 2016 Washington, DC cohort which launches on August 1, 2016.

For more information visit www.BMEinstitute.org and follow across all social media platforms using the handle @BMEinstitute.

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About The BME Institute. The BME Institute believes that the development of successful black male entrepreneurs through The BME Institute is a solution to decreasing the national unemployment rate and a model on how successful business practices in communities can influence self-sustainability and servant leadership in underserved communities.

About Essence Communications Inc. Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media company dedicated to African-American women, with a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events and online. The company's flagship publication, Essence magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women, generating brand extensions, such as the Essence Festival, Essence Black Women in Hollywood and Black Women in Music, Window on Our Women and Smart Beauty consumer insights series, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 45 years, Essence, which has a brand reach of 14.2 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information and specific solutions relating to every area of African-American women's lives.

About Time Inc. Time Inc. is one of the world's leading media companies, with a monthly global print audience of over 120 million and worldwide digital properties that attract more than 150 million visitors each month, including over 60 websites.