Hundreds of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and community leaders attended the DeKalb County Small Business Summit at the Emory Conference Center Hotel. The event, now in its fifth year, was initiated by CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson during her time as District 7 Commissioner and continued under her leadership as CEO.
The summit has established itself as a key event for economic development in DeKalb County, offering resources and networking opportunities to local businesses. This year’s theme was “Navigating Small Businesses During Uncertain Economic Times.” The Decide DeKalb Development Authority and the DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the event.
“Small businesses are the backbone of DeKalb’s economy,” said CEO Cochran-Johnson. “My administration is committed to ensuring that entrepreneurs have the resources, training, and access to opportunities they need to grow and thrive. This summit reflects our ongoing priority to make DeKalb County a hub of innovation and economic vitality.”
One attendee commented on the summit’s organization: “Thank you for hosting the Small Business Summit. It was well organized and informative, providing ripe networking opportunities which I took advantage of.”
The program included four panel sessions addressing challenges faced by small businesses: starting a business in uncertain times; funding and financial solutions; growth and sustainability; and how to become a vendor with DeKalb County government. Panelists included representatives from local organizations such as SCORE North Metro Atlanta, U.S. Small Business Administration, Georgia Hispanic Chamber, Emory University StartMe, WorkSource DeKalb, and others.
Additional programming featured a fireside chat moderated by CEO Cochran-Johnson with Terri Denison, Stacey Key, and Veronica Maldonado-Torres; a keynote address by James “Jay” Bailey of the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs; and a rapid response presentation from WorkSource DeKalb.
Sponsors included DeKalb County as presenting sponsor; Decide DeKalb Development Authority as gold sponsor; BenchMark Management, DeKalb WorkSource Georgia, International Design Services as silver sponsors; several bronze sponsors; and media support from DCTV23.
CEO Cochran-Johnson emphasized that this summit is part of her broader agenda to support small business growth in the county.
Meanwhile, recent data show that enrollment at DeKalb County schools dropped by 2.2% in the 2022-23 school year compared to the previous year. The district enrolled a total of 98,287 students during that period. White students represented 14% of the student body in DeKalb County schools, making them the third most represented ethnic group for 2022-23.
