General Motors Named Top Auto Company for Multicultural Business Opportunities

DiversityBusiness.com / General Motors was today declared the top auto company for Multicultural Business Opportunities of 2004 by over 200,000 diversity business owners. The honor extends to another forty-nine major corporations and is collectively called the Div50. The list is produced annually by DiversityBusiness.com, the nation's leading multicultural B2B online portal. The voting business owners based their decisions on such factors as the volume, consistency and quality of business opportunities granted to women and minority-owned companies. Other large companies at the top of the list are Lockheed Martin, UPS, Dell, General Motors and Bank of America.

(PRWEB) January 7, 2004 --
Top 50 Corporations for Multicultural Business Opportunities

December 31, 2003

The Power of Choice:
Diversity Businesses Vote on Top Corporations

Multicultural Business Recognizes Best 50 Organizational Buyers

SOUTHPORT, CT, Dec 31, 2003/ DiversityBusiness.com / Wal-Mart was today declared the Top Corporation for Multicultural Business Opportunities of 2004 by over 200,000 diversity business owners. The honor extends to another forty-nine major corporations and is collectively called the Div50. The list is produced annually by DiversityBusiness.com, the nation's leading multicultural B2B online portal. The voting business owners based their decisions on such factors as the volume, consistency and quality of business opportunities granted to women and minority-owned companies. Other large companies at the top of the list are Lockheed Martin, UPS, Dell, General Motors and Bank of America.

Top Honors for Top Corporations
While other awards and top" lists crown companies for overall economic growth, returns to shareholders and similar metrics, the Div50 is an indicator of which organizations provide the best and the most business for diversity-owned companies. In a marketplace that is increasingly as sensitive to diversity as it is to revenues, recognizing the top buyers of multicultural products and services is becoming a natural part of the new socioeconomic food chain. Those organizations that buy the most products and services, most consistently, from diversity businesses, and that sustain the most mutually beneficial business relationships with their multicultural suppliers, should be recognized not only by the suppliers but also by the general public," said Kenton Clarke, CEO of DiversityBusiness.com.

The Business Power of Diversity
As minorities gain more buying power and their lifestyles become more affluent, multicultural markets are growing in economic muscle. This in turn attracts more corporations, as they compete for market share in minority communities. The Div50 list has become, by virtue of association, a consumer guide of sorts for women and minority consumers. As a diversity business owner, I appreciate the business we receive from corporate buyers; and in turn, when I buy products and services, either as a company or as a private individual, I am much more likely to buy from the same companies that are supporting my business, or that I know are supporting businesses like mine," said Nancy Connolly, owner of Lasertone Corporation headquartered in Littleton, MA.

The list is circulated to over 1,000 organizations that distribute it to their members and associates; it thus reaches millions of consumers every year. In 4 short years, it has become a highly valued metric of corporate excellence in the diversity procurement space.

The Div50
The Div50 is a listing of the top 50 corporate and organizational buyers of diversity products and services throughout the country. It represents the voices of over 200,000 diversity-owned (women, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Indian and other minority groups) businesses in the U.S., in sectors such as technology, manufacturing, food service and professional services. The Div50 is produced annually by DiversityBusiness.com, the nation's leading multicultural B2B Internet portal that links large organizational buyers to multicultural product and service suppliers.

Over 200,000 women and minority owned businesses had the opportunity to vote in the 2003 online election. The winning companies will be honored at a special awards ceremony at DiversityBusiness.coms 4th Annual Multicultural Business Conference, taking place March 17 -- 19, 2004 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

A complete list of the winners is available at: http://www.div2000.com/div50.

About DiversityBusiness.com
Launched in 1999, DiversityBusiness.com contains a database of diversity-owned businesses throughout the United States that provide goods and services to Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies and colleges and universities. The site has gained national recognition and has won numerous awards for its content and design. DiversityBusiness.com is produced by Computer Consulting Associates International Inc. (CCAii.com) of Southport, CT. In 2001, the Small Business Administration (SBA) presented its annual award for the Nation's Top Diversity-owned Business to CCA for its development of DiversityBusiness.com and its commitment to business development for diversity business owners in Connecticut and throughout the United States.

About CCAii
Award-winning consulting firm Computer Consulting Associates International, Inc. (CCAii) provides professional IT services to Fortune 500 and 1000 companies as well as start-up enterprises. Founded in 1980 by CEO Kenton Clarke, CCAii is the largest African-American owned computer consulting firm in New England. Throughout its 25 years, CCAii has garnered many awards by entities such as the Small Business Administration, the National Minority Supplier Development Council and Black Enterprise Magazine. The company is headquartered in Southport, Connecticut.

Press Contact:
Odetta Rogers
Director of Communications
DiversityBusiness.com

Source: DiversityBusiness.com
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