Watch: Catholic University of America and ICIC introduce a transformative model for urban revitalization

ICIC’s new partnership is changing the way urban business schools think about their role in the community. To promote entrepreneurial solutions to poverty, The Catholic University of America Busch School of Business and Economics is bringing ICIC’s Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program to Washington, D.C. for the first time. The intensive, 40-hour program for business owners has helped inner city businesses in other parts of the country create over 12,000 jobs and raise $1.4 billion in capital since 2005. Bringing the program to Washington makes The Busch School the first urban business school to partner with ICIC, and the first in the nation to take on economic revitalization in their community.

The partnership will also pioneer a new model that engages Busch’s students in the program. Students will serve their community while gaining hands-on experience by helping participating business owners tackle some of their biggest obstacles to growth.

The program’s kickoff event, the largest in ICCC’s 12-year history, attracted over 200 community leaders, including Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington and University chancellor. During his opening remarks, Cardinal Wuerl said, “One of the reasons this is such a significant program is that it takes the best of Catholic social teaching and the best of good business and puts them together.”

ICIC’s CEO, Steve Grossman, also addressed the crowd, emphasizing the uniqueness of the partnership and its potential to transform how anchor institutions, such as Catholic University, approach urban revitalization in their communities. Watch the video below to learn more about this exciting partnership, and how it will impact the inner city business ecosystem in the D.C. area: