Stop & Shop Invests in Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC)

BOSTON, Jan. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) has received a $50,000 investment from Stop & Shop Supermarkets, and an additional $5,000 from the Stop & Shop NextGen Associate Resource Group, a team of Millennial and Gen Z Stop & Shop associates dedicated to economic inclusion. This $55,000 investment will be used to enhance the content and delivery of GNEMSDC's Development Program for minority owned businesses, with a special focus on Black-owned businesses. 

GNEMSDC's Development Program focuses on companies certified as a minority business enterprise (MBE) by GNEMSDC. Stop & Shop funding will support this program through one-on-one business consulting tailored to the size and sophistication of each minority business enterprise, along with helping to build sustainable businesses with a specific focus on financial management, operational and process improvements, strategic planning, and marketing. 

"This investment by Stop & Shop and its NextGen Associate Resource Group will allow us to continue to build an even more effective Development Program to make more of New England's minority businesses stronger," said Peter Hurst, the President and CEO of GNEMSDC. "Minority business development helps reduce the country's racial wealth gap, and our MBE Development Program will continue to contribute to the health and growth of our current and future MBEs. Covid-19's adverse impact on minority-owned businesses requires a laser-like focus on the levers that drive MBEs' success, including access to contracts with buyers in the private sector and the public sector; access to intellectual capital that allows MBEs' owners to be more effective leaders and managers; and access to financial capital that supports their growth, whether one contract at a time or through mergers and acquisitions." 

"Stop & Shop is committed to supporting to the communities where our associates and customers work and live," shared Gordon Reid, President of Stop & Shop. "We hope this investment to GNEMSDC serves as a building block for Black-owned businesses, allowing them to grow, develop and flourish."

With this investment from Stop & Shop and the NextGen group, GNEMSDC will expand the scope of its Development Program beyond just the existing 250 certified MBEs in New England. The expansion will include providing support to Black-owned businesses through integration into Stop & Shop's supply chain in its retail stores and home delivery services throughout New England and the Northeast.

ABOUT THE GREATER NEW ENGLAND MINORITY SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (GNEMSDC):

Operating from offices in Boston, Massachusetts and New Haven, Connecticut, GNEMSDC (www.gnemsdc.org) promotes economic inclusion and minority business development. The 250 minority businesses certified by GNEMSDC have aggregate revenue of $2.7 Billion and over 20 thousand employees (65% of whom are ethnic minorities). GNEMSDC connects our corporate members with our MBEs, our corporate members with each other, and our small MBEs with our larger MBEs. Our Development Program ensures that our MBEs are contract ready when opportunities arise.  Our Advocacy focuses on the impact of minority business development in making communities stronger. An independent economic impact study on GNEMSDC's MBEs found that their economic impacts included: GDP contribution of $4.3 Billion; wages supported of $1.9 Billion; and total jobs supported of over 32 thousand. Connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.

ABOUT STOP & SHOP:

A neighborhood grocer for more than 100 years, today's Stop & Shop is refreshed, reenergized and inspired, delivering new conveniences for customers. Committed to helping its communities enjoy better food and better lives, Stop & Shop has a longstanding history of giving back to the neighborhoods it serves with a focus on fighting hunger and pediatric cancer care and research. The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC is an Ahold Delhaize USA Company and employs nearly 58,000 associates and operates over 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. To learn more about Stop & Shop, visit stopandshop.com.

SOURCE Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council