Equity in Action: Celebrating 30 Years of Work with Purpose

CAMEO Network turned 30 years old in 2024. We have grown so much over the years - from a handful of organizations working with women and small business owners of color to over 400 mission-aligned members currently serving almost 200,000 small businesses per year. We have worked together to support underserved entrepreneurs through times of real prosperity and tremendous uncertainty, including the Great Recession and, most recently, a global pandemic. 

We are extremely proud of the progress we have made as an organization and as a network that includes our members, partners, and funders. We wanted to celebrate this milestone by honoring the purpose of our work - the motivation behind these past 30 years and what fuels us for the next 30. Thus, the theme for our 30th Anniversary celebration event, “Equity in Action: Innovating the Small Business Ecosystem,” was born.

CAMEO Network’s role is to equip small business ecosystems to deliver what entrepreneurs really need, especially underserved entrepreneurs - those who struggle to find support for their ideas, who have a harder time accessing capital, who lack connections to help their businesses grow. Every session of our two-day conference was selected to reflect how our network builds a thriving, more equitable ecosystem that works for all through innovation and collaboration. 

At the event, we solidified our role for the next 30 years. CAMEO Network will double down on that entrepreneurial ecosystem to

Build Industry Capacity

Build Community

Build Power

Some of our highlights include the following:

California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) Director Tara Lynn Gray encouraged attendees to lead with humanity in the face of adversity, to collaborate rather than compete so that our ecosystem can grow to a point where no small business in any corner of California is without the support it needs to succeed. 

Appalachian Community Capital and CEO, Donna Gambrell, laid out the landscape of opportunities to address the unmet capital needs of underserved small businesses.

The California Small Business Coalition for Racial Justice shared how they’re innovating the lending space through their racial equity lens programs which utilize the new 4Cs of credit: Commitment, Character, Capacity, and Conditions to lend to entrepreneurs who wouldn’t qualify under traditional methods… and it’s working!

Breakout sessions focused on ways to address different challenges facing lending and technical assistance organizations:

• Increase operational capacity and efficiency for CDFIs through CAMEO Network’s Shared Services Center;
• Assist small businesses to integrate climate resilience into their business plans;
• Mitigate risk and exposure from current legal challenges against diversity and equity initiatives and programming;
• Become a trusted business advisor within six different mindsets;
• Learn about Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKOs) and how to support this growing sector of entrepreneurs; and
• Avoid high turnover rates and attract top talent.

.We honored the five winners of our inaugural Local Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Awards, who got the opportunity to share their work and impact with our audience.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria emphasized the importance of infrastructure and public safety so that neighborhoods, and the businesses within those neighborhoods, can thrive.

Alphonso David, civil rights attorney and President of the Global Black Economic Forum , addressed the current political climate around race and diversity issues, and challenged everyone in the room to keep our eyes on the prize: stay focused on the mission and build a wall of support among those who believe in equity. 

A group of AI thought leaders explored the rapid adoption of AI among entrepreneurial support organizations, and discussed how this emerging technology can be used to leverage opportunities and increase productivity while staying aligned with equity goals. 

Representatives from Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank gave the funders’ perspective on investment strategies and reaffirmed their commitment to providing the resources our industry needs to prosper.

Elmy Bermejo, U.S. Small Business Administration Regional Administrator for Region IX, offered congratulatory remarks and emphasized the needs for a strong ecosystem for small business success. 

Of course, it wouldn’t be a CAMEO event without some fun! Many attendees joined our staff and sponsors on an evening cruise around Mission Bay where we had pizza and cake, saw sea lions and the beautiful San Diego skyline, and celebrated with music and dancing. 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all who attended our anniversary celebration, to the speakers who provided top-tier content, and to the sponsors who made it all possible. We owe this event’s success to you - and we can’t wait to do it again.