Summit On Minority Entrepreneurship And Investment Capital To Be Held In Cleveland

Ohio Capital Fund Announces Sponsorship of Minority Business Conference

One of the Country's First Summits on Minority Entrepreneurship and Investment Capital to be Held in Cleveland

COLUMBUS, Ohio,  -- The Ohio Capital Fund today underscored its support for one of the nation's first minority business early-stage capital summits. The event, to be held in Cleveland December 3, is called "Transforming the Landscape of Business in America: A Minority Business Early-Stage Capital Summit." It will feature several speakers including investors, national minority business leaders and local minority entrepreneurs.

"The Ohio Capital Fund's mission is to attract Venture Capital investment to Ohio to support our state's early-stage businesses and minority business success is a big part of our expectations," said Paul Cohn , Regional Director of Fort Washington Capital Partners Group, the manager of the Ohio Capital Fund. "We are proud to join the other event sponsors to make this important Jumpstart Initiative possible and we encourage minority entrepreneurs to take advantage of this opportunity."

Ohio has recently experienced impressive results when it comes to attracting early and seed-stage business investment. A recent study conducted by the Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business found that early-stage investment in Ohio increased by 50% in 2008 over the previous year. Further impressing experts was the fact that this unprecedented expansion occurred while national averages for this stage of investment decreased by 20%.

"Sectors of Ohio's economy that have proven most successful in attracting early-stage investment are specialty materials, information technology and energy with the largest gains in health care and biomedical sciences," said Cohn. "This summit will spotlight some of the minority leaders in these sectors and educate others who want to follow along their path of success. They will also offer suggestions to avoid many of the pitfalls that start-up businesses experience."

Other Sponsors of the Minority Business Early-Stage Capital Summit include the Cleveland Clinic, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, Institute for Entrepreneurial Thinking, Marathon Club, Ohio Department of Development, TechColumbus, and Thompson Hine. For more information about the summit or to register for the event. clickwww.jumpstartinc.org.

About Ohio Capital Fund

Established by the State of Ohio through legislative mandate to help increase private investment in Ohio companies in the seed or early stage of business development, The Ohio Capital Fund receives oversight from the Ohio Venture Capital Authority (OVCA). The OVCA is comprised of nine members, including the Ohio Tax Commissioner and the Director of the Ohio Department of Development as well as seven members appointed by the Governor from the general public. For more information visit: www.theohiocapitalfund.com.