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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release August 10, 1999

PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCE BUSINESSLINC --

                    A MAJOR NATIONAL EFFORT BUILDING ON
                THE ADMINISTRATION'S NEW MARKETS INITIATIVE

                              August 10, 1999

CORPORATE AMERICA RESPONDS TO THE CHALLENGE TO INVEST IN NEW MARKETS. Today, President Clinton and Vice President Gore, joined by 16 senior executives, community leaders and small business owners, will announce that the Business Roundtable (BRT), under the leadership of Tenneco Chairman Dana Mead, will be the lead organization for the BusinessLINC (Business Learning, Investment, Networking and Collaboration) National Coalition. President Clinton and Vice President Gore will also announce that Texaco CEO Peter Bijur will chair the Coalition. Through the national leadership of BRT, working together with Treasury and SBA, the following local BusinessLINC chapters have been established: Washington, DC, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, the Mississippi Delta and New York City. Each chapter will be headed by a CEO working in conjunction with local partners.

BUILDING UPON THE BUSINESSLINC CHALLENGE. Launched by Vice President Gore in June 1998, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Small Business Administration (SBA), the BusinessLINC Initiative is a partnership with America's business community that encourages large businesses to work with and mentor small business owners and entrepreneurs. The goal of BusinessLINC is to stimulate business-to-business relationships, including one-on-one technical advice and consulting, classroom and group training, peer group and consulting, strategic alliances, and development of suppliers and new sales channels. President Clinton's New Market's Initiative includes the expansion of BusinessLINC.

TODAY, THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT ARE ANNOUNCING A NEW NATIONWIDE EFFORT TO EXPAND BUSINESSLINC BY:

Announcing Six BusinessLINC Coalitions Across The Country. The BRT today is announcing the formation chapters in the six cities across the country -- Washington, DC, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, The Mississippi Delta, and New York City.
Seeking to Double the Number of Local Chapters To 12. In addition to the six local coalitions that have been established and are being highlighted today, the National Coalition will seek to double the number of local coalitions by the end of its first year.
Maintaining a World-Class Website. The BRT will establish and maintain a world-class BusinessLINC website, which will complement the SBA's existing BusinessLINC and ProNET websites. The website will link to local coalitions, provide information about small business and minority outreach programs of BRT's members, disseminate information about best practices, and expand the pool of firms participating in BusinessLINC local coalitions.
Collaborating with National Partners. The BRT will collaborate with other partners in the BusinessLinc Coalition including the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Women Business Owners, and the Women's Business Enterprise national Council.

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS HAVE AN IMPACT. Today, President Clinton and Vice President Gore joined by business executives, community leaders and small business owners, will participate in a roundtable at Powell Manufacturing Industries, owned by CEO James Powell. Through a partnership with Giant Food, Inc., Mr. Powell has expanded his business by 45%, and more than tripled the number of employees from 3 to 11. Giant helped to facilitate the expansion of Mr. Powell's company through introductions, referrals, and references to other supermarket chains.

ANNOUNCING SIX NEW LOCAL BUSINESSLINC COALITIONS

August 10, 1999

President Clinton and Vice President Gore are announcing that through the national leadership of BRT working together with Treasury and SBA, the following local BusinessLINC chapters have been established: Washington, DC, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, the Mississippi Delta, and New York City. Each chapter is headed by a CEO working in conjunction with local partners.

Washington, DC BusinessLINC Coalition. This chapter will be co-chaired by Patrick Swygert, President of Howard University, and David Rutstein, Senior Vice President of Giant Food, and will be housed at the Greater Washington Board of Trade. The chapter builds on the Board of Trades' Community Business Partnership that currently assists over 40 companies. With BusinessLINC, the effort will be expanded to 60 businesses.

Dallas BusinessLINC Coalition. This chapter will be chaired by John Appel, President of GTE Network Services, under the auspices of the North Texas Commision and the Dallas-Ft.Worth Minority Business Development Council. Their Mentor-Entrepreneur Program, in which GTE regularly participates, annually matches 30-40 minority-owned businesses with corporations for one-year mentorships. With BusinessLINC, the Mentor-Entrepreneur Program will expand and emphasize reaching companies annually from economically distressed areas, and will host training for other interested BusinessLINC sites.

Boston BusinessLINC Coalition. This chapter will be led by the Boston Business Collaborative, co-chaired by Marsh Carter, CEO of State Street Bank, and Ed Dugger, CEO of UNC Ventures and Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Their strategy focuses on increasing business transactions between mainstream companies and entrepreneurs of color.

Chicago BusinessLINC Coalition. This chapter will be led by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, whose President is Eden Martin, Managing Partner of Sidley & Austin. The coalition will provide a platform for Chicago's private sector to create new opportunities for companies in Chicago's Empowerment Zone and other distressed areas.

Mississippi Delta BusinessLINC Coalition. This chapter will be chaired by Wayne Leonard, CEO of Entergy Corporation, in conjunction with the Enterprise Corporation of the Delta, whose President is William Bynum. Participating companies include Wal-Mart and Federal Express.

New York City BusinessLINC Coalition. This chapter which was previously announced by the Secretary of Treasury, will be chaired by Donald L. Boudreau, Vice Chairman of Chase Manhattan Corporation, and will be housed at the New York City Partnership, chaired by Bob Kiley. Building on its successful New York City Housing Partnership that trains small businesses as property managers and housing renovators, the BusinessLINC initiative will match 10 small firms located in, or benefiting residents of economically distressed areas with large firms that can bolster their capacity.