The Memphis Business Academy (MBA) is a training and developmental program for successful entrepreneurs.  The MBA program seeks to take these very competent entrepreneurs, whose success is driven by their own innate will to succeed, from great entrepreneurs to dynamic Chief Executive Officers (CEO), hence our theme, …”Transitioning Entrepreneurs to CEOs.”

Luke Yancy III, President and CEO of the Mid-South Minority Business Council, is the program administrator.   The MBA was founded by four key business organizations:  Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Memphis Regional Chamber (MRC), and the Mid-South Minority Business Council (MMBC).

The MBA program was spun out of research which indicated that minority and women business firms in the Memphis area are very small and represent a fraction of total business revenues.  The need to grow minority and women business firms is critical to the economic prosperity of our community.   The MBA course of study for participating minority and women business firms develops management and strategically puts these firms on a path to become mainstream companies that will create a win/win for them and our communities.

The MBA program is a two-year experience designed to impart “best practices” in a classroom setting and one-on-one environment such that the M/WBE participant can make the transition from entrepreneur to CEO.