Our speaker for our October 27th Zoom meeting is Mark Ritchie, Branch Chief at DBEDT. Mark Ritchie joined the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) as the Branch Chief for Business Support services. Mark works on a number of economic development programs including: Community-based Economic Development (CBED), which provides grants and loans for small businesses; Enterprise Zones, which gives businesses tax benefits in exchange for job creation; HiSTEP (Hawaii State Trade Expansion Program), which assists Hawaii companies with exporting products and services to larger markets outside the state. Prior to DBEDT Mark has held positions in a Hawaii Life Science start-up, a major Silicon Valley tech company in addition to economic development positions in several global trade and inward investment organizations. Mark holds a BA in political economy from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in international business from the Fletcher School, Tufts/Harvard Universities.
OCTOBER IS ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MONTH: Rotary supports investments in people to create measurable and enduring economic improvement in their lives and communities. The Rotary Foundation enables Rotarians to invest in people by creating sustainable, measurable, and long-term economic improvements in their communities and livelihoods by: 1. Building the capacity of entrepreneurs, community leaders, local organizations, and community networks to support economic development in impoverished communities; 2. Developing opportunities for productive work; 3. Reducing poverty in under-served communities; 4. Supporting studies for career-minded professionals related to economic and community development.
Last year, The Rotary Foundation spent $9.2 million to grow local economies and reduce poverty by breaking the cycle of poverty for women, provided 250 microloans and trained more than 270 community members in sewing, baking, plumbing, microcredit, sustainable farming and more.