Nine innovators took part in the annual competition featuring young adults ages 18-30

 The Rhode Island Black Business Association (RIBBA), a leading non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the business opportunities and vitality of Black-owned and minority businesses in the Ocean State, hosted its annual Young Adult Business Pitch Competition on Saturday, August 17th. The competition featured nine entrepreneurs ages 18-30 from around RI. The top prize was $5,000, with $3,000 for second place, and $2,000 for third place. 

“Underserved populations struggle to receive access to capital,” said Lisa Ranglin, President and CEO of RIBBA. “RIBBA addresses this by combining financial support with expert services to foster business growth. While business formation can help reduce unemployment, significant disparities persist. By mid-2023, Black 18-30-year-olds faced unemployment rates of 10-12%, and Latino youth 7-9%, far higher than the 4-6% rate for white youth. Minority youth up to age 30 are still twice as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts.”

The nine featured entrepreneurs span diverse industry clusters, from tax services to fashion and design, uniting a vibrant group of innovators ready to create a significant impact. They pitched their unique ideas to a panel of esteemed judges from around the business community including Edmund Addai, CEO/Owner, Stack House and a winner of RIBBA’s 2023 pitch, Lanre Ajakaiye, CEO, IXL Consulting Group, Victor Regino, Programming Officer with RI Department of Administration and a winner of RIBBA’s inaugural pitch, and David Ferreira, Small Business Relationship Manager at Bristol County Savings Bank.

“It’s amazing to see the growth of the black entrepreneurs in Rhode Island, especially having them at RIBBA’s Equity Hub on Smith Street. The future is very bright and I can’t wait for next year,” said Edmund Addai. 

Zainabou Thiam took the day's top prize with her pitch for Sunu Body, which sells ethically sourced goods. Thiam founded her company at just sixteen years old, with the goal of offering West African self care products from her home country of Senegal. 

“I have been to other pitches before, but this was different. It was amazing to see judges of color and participants of color. The energy in the room was so beautiful,” said Zainabou Thiam. “Winning gold is awesome but I felt the love from everyone in the room supporting me which made it super comfortable to present.”

Terrence Vassell took second place, with the concept for World Dreams Global, a clothing design brand, and Carolyn Ranglin finished in third, taking home $2,000 to help fund QingValid, her premium handbag brand. 

About RIBBA:

The Rhode Island Black Business Association (RIBBA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the business opportunities and vitality of Black-owned and minority businesses in Rhode Island through access to capital, contracting, business development resources, entrepreneur training, business advocacy, meaningful investor services, and workforce development. RIBBA is made up of individuals and businesses of all sizes and membership is open to the public. The organization strives to build a purpose-driven Association where people unite and take action to create lasting change. The services and programs offered by RIBBA are open to all Rhode Islanders. RIBBA leverages the region’s core assets to find solutions in the area that matter most to its members and the community: contract opportunities, access to capital, quality jobs, growth, and quality of life.